7 Payment Trends Leading the Way to Tomorrow
In recent years, payment trends for marketplaces have undergone significant transformations driven by evolving consumer preferences, technological advancements, and regulatory changes. Marketplaces, whether they are e-commerce platforms, sharing economy services, or gig economy platforms, play a pivotal role in facilitating transactions between buyers and sellers.
The efficiency, security, and convenience of payment processes are critical factors influencing user satisfaction and the overall success of these platforms. Let's explore the 7 notable payment trends in payments in the year 2023, as VR Team sees them.
1. Diverse payment methods
One of the notable trends in marketplace payments is the increasing diversity of payment methods. While credit and debit cards remain dominant, marketplaces are incorporating alternative payment options such as digital wallets (e.g., PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay), Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) solutions, cryptocurrencies, and localized payment methods to cater to a broader global audience. This diversification aims to enhance user convenience and expand market reach.
As VR team is a Stripe Certified partner, you can read more about various payment methods offered by Stripe in our blog article here.
2. Mobile-first payments
With the proliferation of smartphones, mobile payments have become a central focus for marketplaces. Mobile apps and optimized mobile websites are designed to offer seamless payment experiences, allowing users to make purchases or transactions on the go. The integration of biometric authentication (e.g., fingerprint or facial recognition) enhances security and convenience in mobile payments.
A shift towards digital payments strengthens the need for banks and merchants to constantly innovate their payment infrastructure. This shift creates a demand for contactless payment methods, open banking, digital wallets, and other payment trends. Buyers love it because they aren’t required to pay up front. Despite the popularity of open invoices and bank transfers, e-wallet type payments are increasing in use. Online transactions using PayPal, Apple Pay and Android Pay are expected to overtake bank transfers in the coming years, taking 23.9% of the market over their 23%. The desire for security and convenience appears to be driving uptake of these well-established payment methods.
3. Flexible payments, especially Buy-Now-Pay-Later (BNPL)
New solutions for BNPL are being developed in response to strong demand for flexible and alternative payments. Already popular, BNPL has further increased its penetration in global markets as the offering has expanded to more spending and retail categories. Data shows that the demand for BNPL is driven significantly by millennial and Gen Z consumers. Globally, significant growth is projected over the next five years. Especially in Europe, payment options are reflecting strong consumer preferences for delayed payments and BNPL.
An interesting trend would be integrating Pay Later solutions with Cash. But will it be possible and how? Payment by instalment and payment by invoice will grow as alternative payment methods. But additionally, we might see an integration of pay-later solutions with other alternative payment methods, and most notably for the DACH reason integrating invoices with cash. This is because cash is so central to consumer spending in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. And BNPL picked momentum in post-pandemic Europe.
You can read more about BNPL proliferating in a highly consumer society in our blog article here.
4. More sophisticated customer journeys, customized customer experience and loyalty programs
As global recession concerns increase, merchants need to keep focused on meeting demand and preferences through every interaction on the customer journey. Attending to how customers shop and what they expect from merchants will be key to responding to customer expectations with an increase in digital experiences. Merchants also need to retain customers in the current climate, where consumers have a multitude of buying options. Loyalty and rewards programs that target specific customer segments are one way to capture consumer interest and help fuel growth in consumer card spend. A good example of that is personalized content based on an answer to a question. Wordpress offers such this feature through its plug-in.
User experience is also central to marketplace success. Streamlined checkout processes, personalized payment recommendations, and real-time transaction tracking are features that enhance the overall user experience, leading to higher user retention and satisfaction. Marketplaces are also introducing subscription or membership models that offer exclusive benefits, including discounted or faster payments, to incentivize user loyalty and generate recurring revenue.
5. Embedded finance
As customers increasingly seek frictionless experiences for their online interactions, merchants are turning to embedded finance and independent software vendors (ISVs) to leverage new transaction methods. Some marketplaces also are exploring the concept of embedded finance, offering financial services such as insurance, consumer financing, and digital wallets directly within their platforms. This trend aims to provide users with a one-stop-shop experience and unlock new revenue streams for marketplaces.
Embedded finance will surge even more in 2024, as there is opportunity for brands with loyal followings to incorporate payments into nonfinancial customer journeys. This interest is led by younger consumers, as 37% of millennials indicate they’re extremely interested in accessing financial services from nonfinancial retailers and brands. With embedded finance solutions, merchants can offer new payment experiences through platforms, including social media, rewards sites and customer loyalty programs.
6. Greater focus on payment security and GDPR requirements
Payment Security has always been a trend and priority. Good evidence for that is the fact that in 2022, 59% of consumers are more concerned about becoming a victim of fraud than they were in 2021, and 62% now see it as an inevitable risk of online shopping. As a result, payment service providers (PSPs) and financial institutions (FIs) will be increasing their investments in payment infrastructure, with an emphasis on securing transactions throughout the lifecycle and protecting individuals’ personally identifiable information (PII). Biometric authentication is expected to play a part in this, as fingerprint, voice and facial recognition, and even behavioral biometrics (including swiping, typing, and phone-holding patterns) are included in the process. Along with biometrics, digital IDs will also increasingly come to serve as a way of authentication or as an additional security layer on top of others.
Marketplaces are required to comply with data privacy regulations like GDPR and payment regulations like PSD2 in the European Union. Additionally, anti-money laundering (AML) and know your customer (KYC) regulations are enforced to prevent financial crimes within marketplaces. Marketplaces invest in robust security protocols, including tokenization, encryption, and fraud detection systems, to protect sensitive user data and prevent unauthorized access. Stronger authentication methods, such as two-factor authentication (2FA), are becoming more common to bolster security.
VR Team’s payment manager package can help you align with the necessary compliance topics. Book a call with us: http://bit.ly/book-vrteam
7. Adoption of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC)
While not yet widely adopted, there is growing momentum globally for the development of Central Bank Digital Currencies. The rise of CBDCs will have a major impact as central banks continue to accelerate their plans. More than 90% of the central banks were engaged in some type of CBDC work. Although there are no immediate plans for widespread adoption in major economies, countries have fully launched a digital currency, meaning merchants should be aware that central banks and governments are looking in that direction.
CBDCs have the potential to offer a safer, faster, cheaper cross-border payment experience for banks, retailers and consumers. This promotes greater financial inclusion in a world where new forms of private-led money, namely cryptocurrencies and stablecoins, have turned out to be risky investment assets rather than a digital storage and transfer of value. As economies around the world are put under increased strain in 2023, CBDCs can provide an opportunity to strengthen central monetary sovereignty. In this regard, the launch and progressive roll-out of the Digital Euro will be one to "watch out" for in the European industry.
Conclusion
They expect not only a frictionless and safe payment experience, but also a more personalized customer journey offering them a frictionless process, starting from their mobile. We anticipate further growth of other smart devices (also powered by the Internet of Things, "IoT") and digital wallets, which will be tied closer to our digital. But let’s see.
The payment landscape for marketplaces is continuously evolving to meet the demands of an ever-growing user base. Adaptation to these payment trends is crucial for marketplaces to remain competitive, attract new users, and build trust in an increasingly digital and globalized economy. As technology continues to advance and regulatory frameworks evolve, staying abreast of these trends will be essential for their success.
Book a call with us to find or fine-tune the payment solution for your marketplace or platform: http://bit.ly/book-vrteam or reach us @ email: info@vrteam.online.