A recent survey by Accenture concluded that more than 52% of North Americans are aware of e-payment tech but only about 18% use them. The stat can be downright disappointing but it’s just the early days for the e-payment industry. Another survey by eMarketer also suggests that there has been a 201% growth in overall mobile payment transactions in 2016 and it’s no wonder why companies are working to minimize the gap between adoption and awareness. The increasing penetration of smartphones, better access to the internet and the exponential rise in ecommerce will certainly change the picture in a few years. This also suggests that e-payment platforms will be the foundation of any new business venture, be it online or offline. It’s not just that we are paying electronically while shopping online but even physical stores are gradually accepting cashless transactions, supported by mobile wallets.
So, what have been the reasons for this push and how businesses can take advantage?
The new generation of ‘spender’ is extremely tech-savvy, thanks to the rise in mobile device technology and a better access to the internet. Also, spending online is always more convenient that moving around with cash. The millennia are getting more and more comfortable with technology and this has been a prime factor in driving innovation in payment gateways.
There are many reasons why mobile payments are even better than placing your credit/debit card through a magnetic reader. All that is required today is a few taps on your mobile screen and nothing has to be handed over to unknown personnel at the store. This also minimizes the chances of cards getting lost, stolen or damaged. Since no physical exchange of money takes place, consumers also feel safer with their spending.
Using mobile payment gateways, a business can take the advantage of intuitive shopping. Since the buyer no longer requires having his wallet nearby, payments become faster and conversions are better. This has also been the reason why many physical stores across the globe are now accepting mobile payment using gateways like Apple Pay, Paytm and more.
Read also: How Mobile Will Help in Restaurant Payments?
Money paid online also facilitates better tracking of spending and helps in the accounting process. With cash transactions, this has always been a difficult section to address to. Consequently, mobile payment and any form of e-payment are not just encouraged by business but by governments across the globe.
Every modern e-payment technology is highly encrypted and unique tokens are generated for each and every transaction. It’s not only that electronic payment is a lot safer than carrying around cash but even hackers find it useless to steal token details. With new security measures like QR codes in place, customers never have to worry about being a victim of payment breaches.
Among the most relevant reasons for the growth of e-payment is the process’s compatibility across a wide range of devices. There are multitudes of smart phones in various budget range and hardware specifications that can be used to pay electronically. The flexibility we have today is amazing!
People are spending more time on their smart phone than on their laptops or PCs. It’s a device that sticks 24×7 with the spender and that’s reason enough for businesses to adopt e-payment technologies compatible with these devices. Further, the flexibility to pay over smart phones also augments technologies like camera, GPS or even the alarm clock. Just like people are relying on their smartphones for directions, they also rely on it for making payments.
However, it is important to understand that creating an effective e-payment system is always preceded by trust. Businesses need to establish a long-term and solid partnership with the consumer and this relationship should be robust and scalable. A great example of such a solution has been Braintree – a PayPal subsidiary. Braintree today exists in over 46 different world markets and integrates more than 130 currencies apart from mobile wallets like Android Pay and Apple Pay. This has been making it easier for businesses that have integrated Braintree to expand all over and reach out to new customer bases. Braintree has been the reason of success behind top companies like Airbnb and UBER, which gradually scaled their domestic operations to a global proportion.
Compared to modern e-payment technologies, the legacy (Cash/card based) payment processes seem to be highly sluggish, less receptive and more importantly, raise apprehensions. It’s high time that the traditional payment processes are revamped and new business models integrating e-payments are introduced. E-payment will soon be acting as a bridge for all forward-thinking brick-and-mortar businesses to be a part of a larger market and buyer-seller ecosystem. Lastly, e-payment systems will also help minimize the costs of compliance associated with cash/card transactions.
Please reach us at [email protected] or fill up the form.
A marketing graduate, a deemed strategist, a sure geek - Tushar is a fine blender of the art and science of writing. When it comes to tune up content with commerce, he knows the trick. For him, if words don’t make you think and beat, they are not worth your time. A crazy foodie, an unfailing jogger – that’s him off the desk!
Or send us an email at: [email protected]
