Friday, October 26, 2018
“Money20/20 believes that inclusivity is a strategic imperative that will drive both businesses and the broader financial industry forward,” wrote Money20/20 organizers. This commitment was reflected in their support of retail’s Rise Up initiative honoring female leaders and the Money20/20 USA Startup Academy, designed to accelerate the potential of next-generation startups whose innovations are driving change and challenging the status quo.
Numerous small-scale cafes, lounges and meeting places provided a welcoming counterpoint to the convention’s massive scale. A Money20/20 mobile app helped attendees navigate exhibits, meetings and presentations and use AI-powered matchmaking to meet likeminded people. An “Ask a Question” feature enabled attendees to interact with moderators during presentations.
Michelle Evans, global head of digital consumer research at Euromonitor International, envisions a world where consumers increasingly transact and work from home. Sharing key insights from her report, titled “Commerce 2040: Revolutionary Tech will Boost Consumer Engagement,” Evans said consumers are beginning to value experience over ownership; immersive technologies will enable fans to live through the eyes of sports and entertainment idols. Entertainment will shift from in-seat to “choose your own adventure,” she noted.
Her report suggests the lines between real and virtual are beginning to blur, as consumers employ virtual reality to gain information or entertainment. This may one day include bots communicating through implanted earbuds and restaurant menu boards sending targeted messages to passersby.
“The entry of the restaurant will evolve with one dedicated to dine-in occasions and the other to delivery,” she wrote. “Convenience stores will likely be the only outlets with inventory. Former retail outlets will shift into micro experiential [centers], helping consumers discover and test products for later drone delivery to home or designated [neighborhood] spots.”
Henry Helgeson, president of integrated payments at TSYS, has also seen technology speed the adoption curve in mobile and digital payments. “Hyperlocal commerce looks different than it did three years ago,” he stated. “I don’t envision a future where my child will carry a credit card.”
Helgeson said merchant level salespeople can stay relevant by evolving with merchants and selling products that solve more than payment problems. “Payments, like other industries, is cyclical; we still have plenty of runway ahead of us and tailwind behind us,” he said. “With so many newcomers in the exhibit hall, I’m reminded of earlier times when people would raise a few million and explain how they were going to put Visa out of business.”
Tim Bedard, director of product marketing at OneSpan, suggested that cybersecurity is also cyclical. “It’s part of our industry’s DNA to see fraud rates go up until the right solutions are in place,” he stated. “Throughout the whole lifecycle, we try to provide a better experience while lowering fraud and meeting regulatory compliance.”
Mike Camerling, CEO at AEVI, said advanced technologies can improve payment flows and take away the pain of innovation; simple integrations and APIs no longer meet retail’s complex requirements. “Let’s focus on the customer and how to make it a better experience,” he said. “New people look at things differently and can help merchants run their businesses their way, choosing their own apps that are interconnected and talk to each other.”
Christopher R. Kronenthal, president and chief technology officer at FreedomPay, noted an increased presence of cross-currency providers in the exhibit halls. “As our industry graduates to higher levels of complexity, everyone’s trying to take it above property,” he said. “We’ve evolved from integrated POS to payments-in-a-box to omnichannel to multi-merchant ecosystems. Merchants may take up that banner by aligning with retail OEM partners to create little ecosystems.”
Todd Linden, CEO, Paysafe, North America, said the fragmented payments landscape presents challenges to card present and ecommerce merchants. Linden presented highlights from “Lost in Translation: The future of payments for SMBs.” The latest in a series on the evolving payments sphere, the report cited security, fraud and abandoned shopping carts as top issues for retailers. Linden expects to see an increase in mobile wallet and app payment adoption in the next two years and said service providers must improve the commercialization process.
Linden told The Green Sheet that Money20/20 is also evolving and drawing an increasingly sophisticated audience. “With an overwhelming inventory of start-ups, the show is bringing to bear more variation in technologies and app marketplace models, which is refreshing,” he said.
Editor's Note:
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