Digital payment trends in business

In this day and age, thanks to the ever-increasing power and presence of the internet, everything is digitized. This includes entertainment, news, socialization and everything else. With the advancements in software and app development, every industry as we know it is undergoing huge changes.

Payments are no exception to this rule. In fact, it’s probably one of the most dynamic and ever-changing subjects that go along with technology’s advancements.

Around 20 years ago, everything about payment processing was vastly different. In some countries, a very large amount of populace didn’t even have credit cards, let alone used sophisticated digital payment methods.

Since then, everything has been very different. Countless payment solutions have been released and re-shaped payment as we know it.

Companies and services like PayPal have made online payments extremely easy and accessible, to the point where it takes literally seconds to send money over to someone at the other end of the world.

With Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies on the rise, a lot is still to be assessed and determined.

With that being said, here are some of the top trends that we’re noticing and think will be shaping a lot of payment habits in the upcoming years.

E-Wallets

E-wallets are electronic online wallets that allow you to make payments from anywhere. This can mean purchasing items via your smartphone or a computer online, or even at a store.

Your banking credentials will be linked to your e-wallet, and can thus be used from anywhere electronically. The Wallets can also store other types of information like your identification documents such as your driver’s license.

One of the main advantages of E-Wallets is its ability to be integrated with, and enhance payment for, various different services. A good example is ecoPayz, a digital E-Wallet that offers integrated payment solutions for the online iGaming industry.

For example, they just started a partnership with Betzest casino and will be offering safe, cheap and instantaneous real-time payments for its users that would’ve otherwise had to deal with time-stretched and high-fee payment process as is the case with most online casinos.

Mobile Payments

Probably the fastest-rising and most prevalent change that we’ve seen in the last few years is the usage of Mobile phones for payments. A large number of banks all around the world offer solutions for essentially turning your mobile phone to a plastic card.

The mobiles can have a tag installed on them, which can be used the same way as a card, wherein you tap/wave your phone on a terminal for the payment to be processed. This is one of the fastest-growing trends that we notice pretty much globally.

With Smartphones becoming more and more inseparable from our day-to-day life, we use them for more regular, everyday activities that we wouldn’t have otherwise thought.

Contactless Card Payments

When it comes to plastic cards, it’s expected that contactless payment cards will be fully dominating in the U.S.

Alfred Kelly, the CEO of Visa, said that roughly 100 million contactless Visa cards should’ve been issued by the U.S. bank in 2019. According to JPMorgan Chase, it’ll be producing contactless chip cards for all of the new Visa credit cards henceforth.

Messaging Apps

One very curious trend that we noticed is the increased usage of messaging apps for payments. Most of the popular messaging apps like WhatsApp, China’s WeChat and Facebook messenger are some of the apps that offer payment processing.

The main advantage of using these phone apps for payment is their unparalleled convenience. You’re essentially allowed to make a payment without even leaving the app.

Facebook is planning to take this to the next level with its Libra cryptocurrency. Libra will allow you to make instant payments online with minuscule fees. The currency will be stored in its own “Calibra” wallet, which in itself will be attached to Facebook’s Messenger and WhatsApp.