2017 saw businesses begin to truly embrace the digital evolution. Digital payments became portable and seamless through mobile and tablet integration as well as tap-and-go contactless chip readers. Small businesses are equipping themselves to compete against the giants that often suffocate and overwhelm smaller competition. Trending digital payment alternatives include:
- Square’s tap-and-go card readers
- Apple Pay’s peer-to-peer payments
- Target’s geo-sensitive mobile wallet
- Afterpay
With a range of solutions becoming more apparent, 2018 will see a huge shift in how vendors operate and do business. What trends will we see?
Portability
This trend of portable payment will likely encourage sustainable practices as it means less paper will be consumed. This an excellent step forward and initiative for businesses, and allows for positive association. Receipts will increasingly shift towards being e-mailed to customers.
Analysis of transactions
Customer loyalty has been a non-stop war for businesses. Such questions we ask ourselves is how can we acquire customer loyalty and maintain it? With the increasing trend of digital payment solutions, each provider comes with a signature app. These apps are diversified amongst each other, but generally come with analytics and mailing abilities. Sellers can analyse metrics to understand preferred payment methods, real-time data, customer insights and repeat customers. 2018 will see merchants get their hands on payment provider related data. By integrating these diverse data streams, merchants can create a truly special and unique experience for their consumers. 2017 saw a drop in a the use of loyalty programs, identifying that many businesses are overlooking the true benefit of this. Portable digital payment is an excellent asset for making transactions both easy and accessible.
Security
Consumers have been concerned with just how secure digital payment platforms are, especially with Paypass still being a sensitive subject. Businesses on the go can help their customers feel more secure by investing in an extra step of counter-fraud. There are businesses that can tailor an extra step of encryption for secure account management. Checking if your digital payment provider complies with the PCI Data Security Standard is a must!