As the digital landscape evolves, so does the need for innovative payment solutions. This year and looking ahead, several advancements are looming on the horizon and are set to transform the e-commerce industry.
Driven by consumer demand for convenience, efficiency, and security, innovative payment providers, like Till Payments – a Nuvei company – are contributing to these changes, making continuous enhancements to their offerings to meet the dynamic needs of businesses and consumers alike.
Chris Hicks, chief revenue officer at Till Payments, reinforces the importance of keeping pace, particularly for online retailers.
“Online commerce moves at a much higher speed than its in-store counterpart, while consumer expectations continue to rise and retailers look to increase their conversion rates, those retailers who are yet to accelerate their digital transformation, need to do so urgently. To keep pace with evolving payment and consumer trends, they must ensure they offer the broadest range of payment options and the most seamless checkout experience to meet their evolving customer expectations. But first, they need to gain an intimate understanding of the trends at hand,” says Hicks.
Real-time payment systems
Real-time payment systems are set to revolutionise transactions, particularly in underbanked regions. In the Asia-Pacific (Apac) region, systems like Thailand’s PromptPay, Malaysia’s DuitNow, and Indonesia’s Bi-Fast have already set a global benchmark for instant transactions. These systems are expected to see a surge in transactions, driven by government-led cash reduction initiatives and the shift towards ISO20022 standards – an international standard for electronic data exchange between financial institutions across the world.
“E-commerce retailers doing business in underbanked regions need to ensure their payment providers are integrating these real-time systems into their operational flow. By adapting to these localised requirements, they stand to benefit from increased approval rates, enriched transaction data, and streamlined cross-border payments,” says Hicks. “This will open up global opportunities for e-commerce businesses and enhance their payment processes.”
Stepping up security in a smarter world
As we embrace increasingly seamless payment methods, like real-time payments, security remains at the forefront. The mandatory transition to PCI DSS 4.0 standards in April, for example, signifies a leap towards stronger defences against fraud, ensuring that the convenience of new payment methods does not compromise security. This balance between innovation and safety is critical as we move towards a world where payment authentication could be as unique as a smile or a fingerprint, underscoring the importance of advanced security measures to protect against smarter threats.
Hicks notes: “As we move towards a world where biometric authentication and tokenisation become the norm, maintaining robust security measures is crucial. Our goal in the payment industry today is to protect both our customers, and the end-customer, while providing them with the most innovative payment solutions.”
Buy Now, Pay Later evolving
The ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ (BNPL) train continues to pick up steam. Despite new and stricter regulations governing the industry, BNPL providers are evolving to deliver products that provide more benefits to merchants, like marketing and shopping assistance, and venturing into products like debit cards, which aim to bridge their services into retailers that do not offer BNPL as standard.
Till’s recent e-commerce trends whitepaper highlighted that offering alternative and diverse payment methods, like BNPL services, can drive significant growth for retailers, with 45 per cent of online shoppers dropping off if their preferred payment method is not offered.
Rewarding loyalty
In a world where every business is competing for sales, the end-to-end journey has become crucial to securing brand loyalty. To stand out and enhance the customer experience, savvy businesses are weaving their loyalty programs right into the checkout process, making every purchase a seamless path to perks.
Redefining the customer experience with global gateways
Global payment gateways, like Till’s online solutions, are transforming the scene, especially for e-commerce retailers. These solutions enable businesses to accept payments from customers worldwide by delivering regional compliance, fraud prevention, native currency conversion, and offering local payment method acceptance.
According to Till’s whitepaper, cross-border sales are projected to make up 33 per cent of all e-commerce spending by 2028. This underscores the importance of global payment gateways in providing seamless and efficient payment solutions for international customers, further enhancing the global shopping experience.
As we make our way through the year, it’s clear the payment landscape isn’t just shifting – it’s making rapid strides towards a simpler, safer, and more enjoyable way to make and take payments. For businesses looking to gain a competitive edge, staying curious, informed, and adaptable are the keys to a successful year in payments and business for the rest of 2024, and beyond.
The post Game-changing payment innovations: what’s on the horizon for e-commerce appeared first on Internet Retailing.
Chris Hicks, of Till Payments, reinforces the importance of keeping pace with game-changing payment innovations, particularly online.
The post Game-changing payment innovations: what’s on the horizon for e-commerce appeared first on Internet Retailing.
