Everyone and (literally) their grandparents are using mobile phones and devices to make payments on the fly. From using mobile wallets to buy products without a visit to the cashier — to banks making online bill payments more secure — there’s no end to the impact mobile will disrupt the way we make purchases in 2018 and beyond.
The commonly-held drawbacks of the past have been usurped largely by the technology of the present and the promise of what it can offer in the future. The fact is, mobile payments using physical EMV, and online payment technology are as secure as any method used in the past. This, even if card-present chip + PIN payments are still considered the gold standard in security.
From working with numerous small businesses in credit card processing system setup, the pros at Pivotal Payment identify these mobile payment trends dominating and disrupting the marketplace in 2018:
1. Mobile wallets out the wazoo
If you had asked me ten years ago if mobile customers using their iPhone 3G would consider connecting their banking and credit card information to their phones, I would have said “you’re crazy!” Now, with advanced security options, it seems like the only barrier to using a mobile wallet is actually owning a smartphone or device!
Virtually all the top smartphone manufacturers are offering mobile wallets. Examples include Apple Pay, Android Pay, and Google Pay found in the Play Store. Users are increasingly placing their trust in the companies that build and manage their phones, providing consumers and retailers the opportunity to do business together more easily.
2. Brick-and-mortar being forced to adapt mobile or die
It’s a harsh reality, but Walmart isn’t brick-and-mortars only enemy circa 2018. Ecommerce platforms like Amazon, Ebay, and other corporate and private online retailers are turning up the heat! Online shopping, shipping, and returns are so seamless and easy that consumers needn’t worry about the hassle of going out to a store.
Online shopping reduces friction and the threat of dealing with pushy or rude staff. To combat this threat, brick-and-mortar retailers have to offer a plethora of options to compete such as accepting mobile wallet payments, contactless EMV payment processing and shopping apps, along with offering loyalty programs and coupon codes that follow them from one purchase to the next.
3. Mobile banking has officially transcended
Mobile banking in the form of mobile bill payments has now become the overwhelming preference for mobile phone users. Back in 2016, the Federal Reserve determined that close to 50 percent of Americans (at the time) preferred to use their phones over a trip to the bank to make bill payments. Banks now offer services like currency conversion, stock trading, cash transfers and check deposits via web and mobile-based apps and devices.
That number has no doubt increased exponentially up to now, though no current data has been released as of late. The fact is, people want to pay bills via their devices, and banks are lining up in spades, with features and technology to make the process fast, enjoyable and secure.
4. Chatbots replacing humans in financial transactions
Artificial intelligence has officially arrived, after years of movies and documentaries promising almost unbelievable feats that artificial technology would one day offer. There is obvious speculation as to the safety and efficacy of this technology, but one major benefit of offering AI alternatives to human payment processors is that fraud would be significantly reduced.
Financial chatbots are devoid of greed and offer the basic support of a human agent, without the hassle of actually speaking to a human being. You ask, it answers. You make an ACH processing request, it carries it out. Regardless how you feel about AI, it does offer faster, if not less personalised service that can let you keep on with your day with minimal hassles.
5. IoT taking over traditional purchasing hurdles
The Internet of Things now offers a connection between buyers and sellers that was never even conceivable a decade ago. Smart fridges can sense when critical food and beverage supplies are low and send out an order, to the point of a delivery service coming into the home and restocking without the involvement of the homeowner.
Services like Amazon’s Alexa are also showing promise, allowing their users to shout out a command for a pizza delivery or fresh medical supplies to be ordered, and paid for on command, without the need to pull out a wallet or sign into an online payment processor. Security will always be a concern, but the near future promises biological protocols such as voice recognition, and iris and fingerprint scanning in order to secure all transactions happening through an AI source.
Conclusion
The future of mobile payment processing is still unclear. However, the lack of clarity that existed just a short time ago, related to technological limitations and security concerns, has now turned to what incomprehensible conveniences might be offered in a (very) short time.
The future is indeed bright!
