A lot has changed in the payments industry over the past years. Digitalisation and changes in customer behaviour are still the key drivers of this ongoing industry transformation. With enterprises becoming increasingly aware of the importance of keeping up with customer needs, watching out for trends and preparing for the future is the best way to keep ahead of the market. In this article, we will define some of the biggest trends for the payments industry in 2022.
Embedded finance isn’t a new concept, but one that will become even more popular in 2022. Essentially, embedded finance refers to any non-financial company that also sells finance products or services within their product offering. A good example of embedded finance is the “Buy Now Pay Later” system, which enables customers to pay for their products in instalments rather than making a one-off payment. The rise of ecommerce played a crucial role in augmenting this concept, which is now being adopted by increasingly more industries.
Embedded finance is made possible through partnerships between institutions and the use of Software-as-a-Service. Non-financial companies will use APIs from banks or other Fintech companies to be able to embed these finance solutions into their own solutions.
Partnerships between financial institutions and innovative Fintechs have unmeasurable advantages for both parties, and for customers too. The proliferation of the APIs made it a lot easier to integrate third-party software into already built systems. This ease, along with the urgent need for traditional financial companies to innovate, has generated a huge buzz around partnerships.
For once, these partnerships enable traditional companies to offer their customers the cutting-edge technology that they are expecting to see. Not only that, the use of third-party software means that companies don’t have to spend any time, resources and money into building products from scratch. They can easily integrate existing ones into their systems and focus on their core business propositions, whilst benefiting from the technology needed to meet customer demand.
Large financial corporations like Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Barclays have all partnered with innovative start-ups to offer better customer experiences across various fields. This trend is bound to continue in 2022 and the years to come.
International payments have risen tremendously during the Covid-19 pandemic, and show no signs of slowing down. With more people having the opportunity to work remotely, wherever they want, companies have partners, suppliers, clients and employees spread across the world. Cross-border payments have become as popular as any other bank-to-bank transfer.
This also means that international payments need to be as fast, cheap and convenient as any other payment type. Deploying the right providers and technologies is essential in delivering cross-border payments in real-time whilst causing no friction in the payments experience.
Not too long ago, crypto was seen as a confusing and untouchable industry. However, in 2021, blockchain technologies have boomed extraordinarily and there are more and more players interested in getting a piece of the crypto pie. Large players like PayPal, for instance, are accepting digital currencies and enabling this phenomenon to become mainstream.
In 2022, we will likely see more businesses centred around crypto and its infrastructure, along with more merchants allowing their customers to use their digital crypto wallets to make purchases. However, cryptocurrencies still face highly worrying issues, particularly around regulatory compliance. The unnavigated world of crypto and the uncertainty that comes with it may slow down its adoption by customers.
Mobile wallets are not a trend anymore. In fact, according to UK Finance, there are now 17 million people in the UK using mobile wallets to make purchases. The limit for contactless payments has recently risen from £45 to £100, which shows that the world is becoming cashless, and that mobile wallets are the next big payment method. The usage of mobile phones and other electronic devices to make purchases is likely to grow in 2022 and in years to come. Therefore, it is important to consider offering this payment method to your customers, regardless of the industry your business operates in.
Imburse is a cloud-based middleware connecting large enterprises to the payments ecosystem, regardless of their existing IT infrastructure. Through a single connection to Imburse, enterprises can collect or pay out using a variety of payment technologies and providers around the globe.
In a world where consumers payment preferences and technologies are ever-evolving, Imburse works with insurers to future-proof their payment requirements. Regardless of the business area, market, or requirements, Imburse will connect you to your choice of technology and provider.
Reach out to our team below should you want to discuss how Imburse can help you. Our team is happy to show you what our platform can do for your business and offer you a free demo.
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