Five Payment Trends to Watch in 2021

The pandemic multiplied the number of electronic transactions, the number of users, and new tools. And, therefore, the entire scenario of means of payment and virtual transactions is changing, giving way to the generation of new and better offers to consumers.

1. New uses generation Z: 

Generation Z begins to take on an increasingly relevant role in electronic commerce. Young people in this group, who were born between 1997 and 2003, already have greater financial independence. And, therefore, make much more informed and analyzed consumption decisions. 

They require digital tools and systems to carry out their procedures, buy or hire a service, so it is a lever for the rapid transformation that large, medium and small businesses are experiencing.

2. Electronic wallet: 

Mobile application with which it is possible to carry out various financial operations without the obligation to have a bank account. 

With the virtual wallet, it is possible to do everything from the cell phone, without leaving the house and without queuing. It is a trend in Latin America that is gaining ground thanks to the emergence of Fintech companies, which have supported the development of this offer. The new generations and foreigners with whom they mostly use these tools.

3. Fraud risks: 

Financial institutions have worked hard to onboard new customers to online banking with mobile applications such as e-wallets, and the pandemic accelerated the process extremely quickly. 

This increase in transactions is generating a greater possibility of fraud. Those in charge of digital security generally analyze customer behaviors. 

But with the increase in the number of users, it becomes more difficult to perform this analysis, since the locations and devices to carry out transactions have also increased. That has generated many alert scams, also increasing phishing and other attacks for identity theft.

4. Opening of acquiring networks: 

With the incorporation of the four-part model, new and different actors were allowed to enter the acquiring system, which implies tariff benefits and the offer of products, technology, and financial inclusion. 

This will improve the quality of the service offered and the speed in the implementation of innovations that allow the constant improvement of the current model. 

Encouraging a process of financial inclusion improves the use of social benefits, increases electronic commerce, and encourages the use of formal businesses. 

5. Ecosystems and end-to-end solutions: 

Previously, customer needs were served by multiple companies in parallel. However, recent technology and trends in their behavior have created a change in this model. 

And currently, value chains are converging in a single chain around each key consumer need, eliminating barriers between industries and achieving that the same provider can serve and solve different needs, from end to end, through the orchestration of different products, creating an ecosystem.

All these scenarios only allow us to visualize an advance in the offer to customers, generate greater democratization in access to digital channels and payment systems. 

The main challenge for this year is to be able to establish normality as before the pandemic and that the processes of evolution in the industry of the means of payment are as natural as possible.