The future of commerce has expanded across physical and digital lines. From large supermarket chains to small independent businesses, the prerequisite of cash is no more, and customers have more autonomy in paying with whatever they like. It has taken the industry years to get to this point in payments, and as the demand for international flexibility and financial inclusion continues to grow, the best is yet to come.
In this episode of The Paytech Show, we explore the future of commerce & the historic journey the industry has taken in its development of payment services and point-of-sale (POS) options, and why banks and fintechs should always prioritise the preferences of their end-users. Joining us on the show, we welcome Eddie Johnson, the VP of Products at Aevi, Holly Coventry, the Vice President of International Open Banking Payments at American Express, and Harshna Kayley, the Managing Director of Payment Products/Gateway at Barclaycard Payments.
“What’s changed in the last two years is that the options are pretty much endless,” said Johnson. “You get to choose how you want to pay when you want to pay, what kickback you get from how you pay, how many payments you want to make for that one purchase – as an industry we need to be able to support that choice.”
Customer demand has sparked an accelerated interest by industry leaders to create digital-orientated products. This era has also seen players, incumbents and fintech underdogs alike, move ahead of the curb and provide more experimental services for consumers to play with.
“We saw that the biggest change in the last sixteen years was around mandatory, strong, customer authentication, known as SCA,” said Kayley. “Since March in the UK, online transactions over £25 are subject to an additional identity check. So it does clearly help in combating fraud, and reduces the friction the customer experiences.”
Having the ability to move money in a secure and protected way will always be the main concern of the banks and merchManaging Director, Payment Products/Gatewayants because it determines the trust of their customers. By building more regulations and rules in the payment space, institutions will have the agency to experiment further with different payment options without compromising the relationships they have built with consumers. Moving into a more digital and contactless environment with eCommerce will only expand the use cases of payments and build more personalised experiences between merchants and their customers.
