The World Of Payment Technology In 2021

Money and the world of payments have gone through many changes since the stone age. From barter systems to contactless payments, society has evolved into a very mature stage, where Payment Technology have overtaken conventional mode of payments.

Many people recall times when they ran cashless for a week or maybe longer. The digital payment infrastructure is ready to shine, and customers across the world are increasingly adopting the new modes of payment.

Although digital payments have been here for a long time. Paypal, one of the largest digital payments companies today, started all the way back in 2004. Now Paypal is the limelight for business to business payments. But the implementation of payment technology into customer to business services and peer to peer paymentsservices have only been possible with the advent of technologies like 4G, 5G, Blockchain, AI & ML, and RegTech.

In the span of five to six years, digital payment technologies have seen massive developments in terms of financial inclusion, and we’re expecting to see more innovation in the coming years.

Banks and Non-Banks need to switch to Digital Transformation
As per a report by EY, 50% of consumers are already using FinTech applications for money transfers and payments, whereas 65% are optimistic that they will be doing so in the future.

The significant disruptors of the payment landscape are the non-banking financial institutions that operate via unconventional means. The distinguishing line between payment networks and banks will continue to blur.

To keep up with the increasing trend of cashless payments, banks and non-banks will have to act quick. Offering tech-agnostic value-added financial products and services will be the way forward to achieve digital transformation.

It is interesting to understand where the payment technology trend is heading towards and what 2021 has in store for us in such exciting times. This article will take you through all that you should know about payment technology in 2021.

What Is A Payment Technology?
Payment technology is the driving force behind the digitization of payments. There are several payment technologies such as Blockchain, QR codes, NFC, Biometric and many others that are currently disrupting the conventional payment ecosystem.

However, not every available payment technology is worth investing in. There are several parameters that affect the feasibility of payment technology implementation and the ROI (Return on Investment) that it can bring. For example, the QR code technology has made contactless payments a feasible solution over NFC or RFID.

Latest Payment Technologies in 2021 #1 Biometric Authentication
Biometric authentication has been in the limelight for the past couple of years. Security has become a prime concern for banking institutions due to strict compliances by regulatory bodies. It has made multi-factor authentication a necessity for mobile walletand payment service providers. The availability of a fingerprint sensor or iris recognition in almost all the smartphones and tablets, have made biometric a feasible option for multi-factor authentication.

Biometric authentication is a verification method involving structural or biological characteristics of an individual. The verification methods range between facial recognition, fingerprint scanners, heartbeat analysis, iris recognition, and vein mapping.

This payment technology helps FinTech service providers prevent chances of identity theft and fraud. Biometric authentication is a unique and crucial step in the online payment process, as it ensures efficiency, security, and improves customer satisfaction. The ease of authentication and high-security help financial institutions build customer trust and loyalty.

#2 mPOS
Mobile-Point-of-Sale, aka mPOS, is an innovative payment technology that is focused on freeing merchants from their store location and going mobile. It liberates merchants to seamlessly accept payments at various places like trade shows, concerts, food trucks, and many other places.

Not only this, but the mPOS payment technology also streamlines the checkout process at the stores by replacing central checkout areas with staff equipped, with instead mobile-point-of-sale devices.

Indeed, mPOS technology will be a popular trend in 2021, and the statistics show the same. Global Market Insights reports that by 2026, the mPOS market will be valued at $80 billion globally. It is expected to grow with a CAGR of 19% between 2019 to 2026.

Source: Global Market Insights

#3 Voice
With the rise of smart speakers and home assistants, voice commands have become mainstream in the tech space. The banking and finance industry isn’t untouched from voice tech, and in the near future, we’ll see more and more people handling their finances via smart assistants.

Many financial giants are heavily investing in voice tech for payments, as statistics reveal that there is an increase in the number of people that are buying products via smart speakers. Statista found 35% of users purchase products like groceries, home care, and clothing using smart speakers.

Three Compelling Reasons to Buy LG Refrigerators

As the summers make their entry yet again this year, buyers are bee-lining to buy refrigerators with the latest and best features in it. This is the time of the year when refrigerator manufacturers unveil their latest technology and try to woe customers with their top of the line cooling machines. Refrigerators today are not just contraptions to keep veggies and fruits fresh or chill a few bottles of beverages or make ice. Today, refrigerators are also lifestyle statements, and one company that is leading the way in making great lifestyle products is LG. But the fact remains that people buy refrigerators mainly for their features, the outwardly set of extravaganzas are deal sweeteners, these do not make or break or deal.

LG, in its recent line up of refrigerators have introduced some cool features which we believe the tilts the balance in its favour. Here are some that are worthy of your attention.

1. Smart LED Controls: A refrigerator with smart features need smart controls as well. LG refrigerators are outstanding when it comes to making smart controls and interfacing them to with intuitive and technologically advanced controls. The stainless steel base on which the LEDs are set adds classic flair to the design and makes operating LG refrigerators a enjoyable experience.

2. Spacious Ice Tray: Lets face it, we all run out of ice quicker than we would like to. Any average refrigerator maker has a standard ice tray to which they conform while making ice trays even in bigger refrigerator models. This is inadequate for the majority of consumers who want their ice trays to last longer and provision for more people. LG refrigerators, at least the new ones are good at that. So, now if you have a big and quick demand for quick ice, your refrigerator should be capable of meeting your demands.

3. More of organized space: Stuffing more into the refrigerator is a habit that is common to most of us, on one hand it is goo d for organization and on the other hand it helps the refrigerator in maintaining a steady temperature within the refrigerator, plus they help you in keeping everything organized within the refrigerators.

If purchasing a refrigerator is on your list of things to do this summer, consider LG refrigerators for their worth and price.

Use Of Data Visualization Software to Create Customer Relationship

With the large-scale adoption of data analytics and visualization platform, stakeholders have started to understand how the importance of leveraging the data collected from the customers to understand their decision-making patterns.

Customer Intelligence is a huge part of data analytics that enables business owners to understand their customers’ decision-making process. Analyzing the data collected from the customers makes it easier for the stakeholders to make business decisions based on the insights extracted from the data. Customer Intelligence is thus a crucial factor that can lead to personalized Customer Experience (CX) and result in long-term customer retention and loyalty. Let us take a look at how businesses can make the best use of data visualization software to derive dynamic marketing and customer relationship strategies.

How to Successfully Leverage Customer Intelligence?

A. Unify the Data

To turn the data into meaningful insights, the organization must unify the data. This can be achieved by deploying any dynamic data analytics tool but first, the customer relationship managers must know how and which data from the consumers should be collected. Today, customers can interact with the business in multiple ways such as emails, web or mobile applications, text messages, or even phone calls. Documenting the findings from these interactions will make it easier for the analysts to make the best use of the data visualization platform and churn meaningful charts and data stories. Some of the data-sets that are vital for Customer Intelligence are:

User demographics
Customer preferences
Social media sentiments
Favorite transactions
Sales interactions
Mobile and website browsing actions
B. Monitor Customer Experience (CX)

For businesses, a seamless and memorable customer experience is a critical success factor that has a lasting impact on the business. Healthcare is one such domain where monitoring the customer experience in real-time brings forward insights that can be used by relevant stakeholders to provide personalized care. Healthcare business owners are constantly trying to find more penetrative use cases of data analytics for healthcare, with a keen focus on their patients. While Customer Intelligence guides the stakeholders by virtue of insights from historical data, monitoring real-time data is the key towards unlocking hospital care that prioritizes the patients.

C. Enhanced Customer Segmentation

A large part of Customer Intelligence is enabling the sales and marketing teams to design campaigns that effectively result in desired business outcomes. Analyzing the customers’ data involves segregating the millions of people into major categories based on their behavioral patterns and buying preferences. Customer segmentation based on product reviews, sales interactions, and response to offers, makes it easier for the stakeholders to discover new opportunities and design advertising campaigns with a focused targeting.

Business Impact of Leveraging Customer Intelligence

For many businesses the ultimate goal to consistently drive sales by ensuring the end-consumer continues to use their services and products over any of the other industry competitors. Investing in a dynamic data analytics and visualization platform to practice Customer Intelligence has a lasting impact on the business in multiple ways such as:

A. Identify Market Trends

A key part of gaining a competitive advantage is spotting trends before any of your industry peers. Customer Intelligence allows the stakeholders to analyze data sets to derive common patterns and predict future trends. Many data visualization tools are built to successfully forecast customer behavioral trends that enable the sales and marketing teams to build campaign recommendations based on meaningful insights.

B. Improve Brand Reputation

When businesses prioritize their customers’ choices, the result will most likely result in the customers trusting the brand. Today, businesses can address the customers’ concerns in real-time and by leveraging the historical data and real-time Customer Intelligence, the grievance management teams can provide a swift solution, thereby ensuring there is no damage done to the brand.

C. Customer Loyalty

Every action and interaction with the customer is an opportunity for the business to gain a deeper understanding of their consumers’ psyche. Once the behavioral data is analyzed and presented in the form of data stories using a robust data visualization platform, stakeholders can determine how their campaigns can offer a personalized experience, giving customers a feeling that the business cares about their choices and values their decision to spend money. The long-term effect of a well-defined Customer Intelligence strategy can be seen on building a customer base that is loyal to the business and thus it is a critical stepping stone towards gaining a competitive advantage!