THE PAYMENT TECHNOLOGIES OF THE FUTURE
2013 has come and gone, and it’s time to look toward the future and what lies ahead for payment processing in 2014. With the increasing ease of on-the-go payments and single-click transactions, the business models we’ve come to know are being displaced in an ever-changing payment environment. This year, we saw the rise of prepaid credit cards, move toward cloud storage, and decline of paper finances we predicted. It’s important to familiarize yourself with the payment technologies of the future as these changes affect consumers and businesses alike.
Read the second part of our payment processing predictions below, or read part one here.
Geolocation Check-In
A major factor in the success of brick-and-mortar stores has always been their distance from major streets and heavily trafficked commercial zones. That’s all set to change in 2014 with the rise of geolocation check-in services like Shopular, an app that checks your location against registered businesses and issues enticing coupons before you even walk in the door. These apps collect data from users highlighting specific areas of interest and push through notifications when you come within a set distance
Geolocation check-in services will be a boon for small-business owners looking to attract attention. By compiling a list of keywords in reference to the merchandise a store carries, a business will be sure to gain market share no matter how busy the street their storefront faces. By integrating mobile payment offers into the coupon deals, consumers will be alerted to a store, select a coupon, and purchase an item long before they pull into the parking lot.
Businesses have already begun taking advantage of apps such as Foursquare, which encourage repeat business by issuing the user “points” for each check-in, gaining them social media titles and often discounts. Expect this trend to continue as consumers begin paying more attention to where their Smartphones suggest they shop and less toward big-brand recognition, drawing users away from box stores and inside the local shops they may otherwise have never known existed.
Social Media Payment
Finally, this year we’ve begun to see the integration of social media with everything else we do. From posting comments and compiling to-read lists on major news websites to checking bank accounts and applying for jobs, direct communication between social media networks and the rest of our lives has added a layer of convenience to every user’s online experience.
In February, Facebook added a feature that scanned users statuses for keywords, prompting their friends to give a gift when certain terms were used. For example, a friend’s status that read, “It’s a boy!” would prompt users to purchase toys, baby clothes, and monogrammed knickknacks. The prevalence of social media advertisements this year has inspired a new business model, with recent product searches reappearing in Facebook’s sidebar, giving consumers a second chance to purchase an item they may have initially passed on.
With a millions-strong established user base between Facebook and Twitter, all the social media market is waiting for is a unified solution, a seamless payment system that will span all of a consumer’s social networks connecting them to relevant businesses and products. When that bridge is crossed, expect the payment environment of the coming year to look radically different—more personalized, more refined, and more intimate.