Just as remote work has changed how companies operate, rising demand for digital payments is also reshaping the world of business. Digitization is completely revamping the payment landscape with innovations that will be popular for years to come.
A Radical Shift in Consumer Behavior
Every profession, industry, geographic market, and demographic has been profoundly impacted by the pandemic. Health and safety when paying for products and services is now a top priority for consumers everywhere. But adopters of digital payment solutions have been able to more rapidly and successfully pivot to meet the new demand. They are continuing to gain market share from competitors who are at a major disadvantage because they don’t have convenient digital payment technology.
Touch-Free Payments
The Forbes Technology Council reports that more than a quarter of small businesses surveyed have seen increases in payments by mobile phones or contactless cards. Contactless payments now account for approximately $10 billion in transactions. Forecasters expect that to nearly double over the next five or six years, which would represent a nearly 12 percent compounded annual growth rate. Forty-eight nations increased their spending limits for contact-free transactions, too, and New York’s entire MTA system of buses and stations plans to offer touch-free payments by the end of 2020. Those changes highlight just how much digital payments are affecting businesses worldwide.
Advanced E-Commerce
Seamlessly integrated digital payment systems are also improving and reshaping e-commerce for both customers and businesses. Today’s digital technology supports features such as “pay now” buttons, instant email confirmation of purchases, and subscription payment plan options. Businesses can accept virtually all forms of payment, in all popular currencies, and facilitate multiple simultaneous transactions, even across international time zones. Such swift, flexible, frictionless capability has the power to enable any localized business to attract customers who live and work anywhere in the world.
Slash Transaction Costs
Almost every state now allows surcharging on credit card transactions, which means that the merchant can pass along their “swipe fees” to the cardholder. The business retains 100 percent of every sale, with zero credit card processing fees, and the whole system can be automated with a simple digital plug-in. That can potentially contribute 2-4 percent more to the merchant’s profit margins, making this one of the most impactful ways that digital payments are transforming business. Digital payments can also eliminate the need for printing and storing invoices and receipts. That lets businesses electronically generate customizable financial reports and sales projections. Secure cloud backup, as well as searching and sharing of payment data is also easy and automatic.
“Future Proofing” Business
A digital payment platform is a key component of a sustainable and agile business model. Digitization enables a fast response to a changing marketplace. It facilitates upgrades to features and technologies as soon as they emerge. Ultimately, a digital payment system means that instead of being hampered by unexpected changes in payment technology, a business is empowered by those fresh innovations. Similarly, a business is able to scale-up or restructure without experiencing unwanted and costly growing pains or constraints. That can be invaluable.
Fortunately, multifaceted future-forward digital payment solutions already existed even prior to the pandemic. Now, more than ever, businesses are discovering that they offer the flexibility, affordability, security, and ease of use they and their customers want.
