What’s Next for Online Payments?

Mobile-First & Invisible Payments

Shopping is so easy nowadays. You don’t even have to leave your house to do it. Whether it’s food, clothes, or tickets, it can all be done online. 

E-commerce is a super popular way of shopping. Its popularity keeps increasing, too. A whopping 87% of UK consumers make purchases online.

But would this statistic be as high if online payments weren’t as easy to complete?

Nope, it wouldn’t. There are a number of things that enhance the online shopping experience. 

There are embedded payments, for instance. These integrate payment processing directly into a company’s site or app, allowing users to complete transactions without being redirected elsewhere. This makes for a much smoother buyer journey.

Mobile payments are also trendy now, and creating a mobile-first shopping experience should definitely be one of your priorities, for two reasons:

• It’s more comfortable for users to pay via mobile phones. Everyone’s on their phones — the rise of ‘m-commerce’ (mobile-commerce) is proof of that — and smartphones are actually the #1 device for making purchases
• It allows users to pay from anywhere. They don’t need physical cash or cards. This flexibility boosts your revenue

Then there are invisible payments. Have you heard of them? Possibly — but maybe you didn’t see them; they’re invisible, after all. These transactions sneakily leave your bank account on the down-low. Take subscription payments, for example, like Netflix and Amazon. Your subscription payments get taken automatically, in the background of your other day-to-day purchases. You don’t need to manually intervene. This creates a smooth and uninterrupted user experience, which is why it’s such a well-liked model. 

Biometric Authentication

Another great feature of online payments is the security they provide. Protocols like biometrics make transactions much safer, and reduce the risk of lost or stolen cards.

Biometric authentication isn’t as complicated as it sounds. It’s where your unique physical or behavioural traits, like fingerprints, facial scans, or voice recognition, are used to verify your identity. You might’ve come across it when unlocking your phone, or indeed, when making online payments through your banking app or digital wallets. 

It makes online payments much more secure and convenient. You don’t have to worry about remembering your passwords or PINs, because you carry your personal characteristics with you wherever you go! This also prevents fraud, because there’s only one of you, meaning no one else has the same unique characteristics you do. 😉

AI and Machine Learning for Fraud Detection

Speaking of fraud detection, let’s talk about AI and Machine Learning for a sec.

AI systems track every transaction that occurs and take note of all the details, like the amount spent, the time a purchase took place, location, IP address, and device information. Yeah, it’s a lot. But it’s for a reason. 

All this analysis will help flag and block any suspicious activities — that is, anything that’s not your “normal” customer behaviour. For example, if you usually make small purchases in your local area, but there’s suddenly an attempt at a larger, international transaction. This shady behaviour gets detected immediately, before any financial loss takes place.

AI is working overtime, not just to keep your customers safe, but also to predict what payment method they’ll use (like digital wallets or a specific debit card), which makes their purchase journey even more hassle-free. 

By identifying your customers’ spending habits, AI can also offer tailored discounts, product recommendations, or customised loyalty rewards. These personalised payment processes make your customer feel all the more valued.

Further Rise in Digital Wallets

Apple Pay and Google Pay are the new cool kids on the block, and they likely reside in your phone, too. Befriend them! They’re called ‘digital wallets,’ and they’re here to stay. 

Digital wallets are becoming the preferred payment method for many consumers around the globe, growing at roughly 20% per year. There are currently around 4.5bn digital wallet users worldwide; this stat is predicted to increase to 6bn in 2030. That’s a good chunk of the world population!

With such a burst in popularity, regional digital wallets were born. These are the more ‘area-focused’ cousins of digital wallets, if you will. While universal digital wallets aim for a broader, more international use, regional wallets are adapted to the regulations, payment systems and banks of a specific geographical area. 

To stay competitive, digital wallet providers are integrating value-added features, like Buy Now, Pay Later options, and virtual cards. Time to get ahead of the game, and enable digital wallets as a payment method if you haven’t yet!

Real-Time Cross-Border Payments

You know how it would take you days, sometimes even weeks, to transfer funds between different countries back in the day? Well, that’s no longer the case. Now it’s a world without borders when it comes to online payments. 

Real-time cross-border payments are pretty much instant. Transfers don’t take longer than a few seconds or minutes to come through. It’s not magic, but it comes pretty close. Global transactions are now completed more efficiently, without any intermediaries. 

And that’s not all. Global payments are also cost-effective. In the old days, when you’d transfer funds from one country to another, you’d be met with high banking fees and extortionate exchange rates. Not anymore! Real-time payment systems tend to offer competitive exchange rates and lower fees, so don’t worry about your hard-earned money getting eaten up by cross-border transactions.   

Future-Ready Benefits for Businesses

Ah! Our crystal ball’s telling us that online payments really are where it’s at in the future! There’s just too many benefits — it’s not something you’ll want to pass on.

But, in some areas, you’ll also have to pull your weight a little. You’ll have to be adaptable and agile, listen to your customers, and be ready to take on new technologies. It’s how you stay competitive, but also keep your players happy.

Take the checkout page as an example. If you want your conversion rates to skyrocket, you’ll have to ensure your checkout process is user-friendly, fast, and provides a menu of payment options. Speed and convenience are key here. 

Customers love a frictionless payment experience. Whether that’s a one-click payment option, digital wallets, or a generally simple payment process, keep them in mind. They’ll be the ones making purchases from you!

We’ve touched on this already, but definitely incorporate advanced security features, like end-to-end encryption, AI-driven fraud detection, and biometric authentication. Embedding these into your system will build trust between you and your players. When your players trust you, they’re more likely to come back, and play again.

Taking all these ideas into account will help you grow your business. Not just within the UK, but also around the world. 

Get Ahead of the Rest With Zap Pay

A little fun fact for you: we’ve created our own payment gateway, Zap Pay.

With Zap Pay, you’ll be able to provide an automated Payout Solution to your players. Exciting, huh? Put your hands up if you enjoy saving time and money! 

Zap Pay does just that. 

Are you interested in learning more? Perhaps hopping aboard the Zap Train? Our team of experts are excited to run you through, and help you out. Drop us a line. One quick message in exchange for never-ending success.