The Future of Mobile Payment Technology
Mobile payment technology has continued to take the world by storm. It is a hot topic in different industries including retail, hospitality and financial industries among others. The future of mobile payment technology is indeed bright as it reshapes the way consumers purchase their products and order for their services. From a business person who picks up an ordered cup of latte without queueing to the swipe reader using a smartphone to take payments in a busy farm market, the convenience of this technology cannot be underestimated.
According to a recent Juniper Research study , it is expected that by 2024, up to 4 billion users will have mobile wallets, a major growth from the current 2.3 billion users. The study also sees an increase in mobile wallet transactions rising to $ 9 trillion per annum by 2024. This growth is attributed to several factors that include
1. Security
Mobile payment methods are secure because they are contactless. In any business environment, carrying lots of cash can pose a significant security threat. However, with contactless payment option, you can use different technologies including NFC payments to complete your transactions on different mobile wallets including Android Pay, Apple Pay and Samsung Pay among other highly secure wallets. These wallets come with quality, secure and reliable microprocessors to keep every transaction and account safe.
In North America for instance, the use of Near Field Communication contactless payment technologies continues to grow tremendously. More merchants in the region prefer mobile payments or contactless payment continues to grow. This is attributed to the easy accessibility of smartphones and wearable payment devices that makes every transaction seamless.
2. Convenience
Mobile wallets are very convenient. With advanced technologies, you can use a mobile payment app to make and complete transactions on the go. As such, making transactions is an easy task and with no delays or inconvenience of having to carry credit or cash cards everywhere, you go. This is a great appeal to business persons and clients alike because all you need is a smart phone to make or receive payments.
3. Loyalty
Digital wallets help you to reward clients with loyalty programs. With offers such as point of sale and special deals linked to client loyalty programs, your customers can easily access them on mobile payment apps. The loyalty factor enhances the growth and the bright future of mobile payment technology. Today, many clients are more likely to use apps that allow them to access discounted offers on different products and services.
4. Mobile Point of Sale High Demand
The future of mobile payment technology is also fuelled by the high demand for mobile point of sale technology. It offers the freedom to make or receive payment without using in-store payment systems. This is ideal especially for trade shows organizes, food trucks, concerts and related businesses. Mobile point of sale technology enhances payment processes because it is flexible. What’s more, the devices used for mobile point of sale are highly portable.
According to the business insider, it is expected that up to 27.7 million devices will be used by 2021. This is from the 2014’s, 3.2 million devices. This growth is attributed to the flexibility and convenience of mobile point of sale devices today unlike in the past when they were only used in brick and mortar locations.
5. The Rise of Biometric Authentication
Mobile wallets are secure mobile payment systems thanks to the advanced biometric authentication process. It is the ultimate solution to the long-standing issue of identity and fraud theft associated with cash payment. As such, it is a reliable way to identify who is the owner of an account. In a business set up, it is easy to identify employees and no one can receive wrongful payments. An industry study shows that by 2021, 18 billion biometric transactions will be taking place.
Paul Fabara who was recently as Visa’s chief risk officer is committed to maintaining the integrity of mobile and visa payment system. This is additionally a trend that will boost the future of mobile payment technology.
6. Growth of Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence is getting smarter by the day thus enhancing the quality of mobile payment technology. It is a trend that is also set to grow to allow more clients to adopt AI shopping on different sites such as Amazon’s Alexa. The technology will also be used to ensure top-notch edge fraud detection system and to provide quality protection against cyber-attacks.
7. Growth of Mobile Apps
Today, mobile apps have become increasingly popular. Customers can easily download mobile wallet apps on their devices and phones. As such adding vital information on the app including credit card details. It is also easy to secure payments with enhanced credit card information. These are ideal and common in mobile wallets including Apple, Samsung and other common consumer-friendly apps. With these apps, consumers can easily pay for different products and services they are interested in without fear of losing their money.
When you build a mobile payment app, customers can also shop online for their products and services. Clients can shop online on Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram among other social media sites. Mobile payment technology offers ideal mobile money solutions for clients to shop and streamline their experience. As such it boosts the need for a perfect environment for mobile payment technology to grow. In a nutshell, social commerce enhances social payment processes and helps businesses to keep their eyes on the right moving target.
8. The Reduced Need for Physical Cards
The growth of mobile wallets has seen a reduction in the need for physical cards. Even though debit and credit cards are still dominant across different parts of the globe, this does not deter the growth of mobile app payment systems. In the US, more than 70 percent of the population use one credit card. More than 15 percent of US citizens still use up to 5 credit cards.
Mobile payment apps and some of the most popular digital payment options including peer to peer payment app are reliable, efficient, trustworthy and secure. Therefore, they reduce the need for physical cards in different environments. What’s more, mobile payment technologies are still advancing and allow you to make payments on the go. Near field communication (NFC) is rapidly changing the way clients make payments even on the move.
With these trends, the future of mobile technology is bright. From the mobile point of sale to the latest mobile wallets, you can look forward to more automated payment options and capabilities.
