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Education
Payment trends to said about the importance of big data, next year more
watch in 2017 merchants will grasp how insightful data drawn from
this type of system can significantly contribute to an
By Oren Levy enterprise's return on investment and create lasting
Zooz Inc. customer loyalty.
T here is a tendency to avoid making forecasts Prediction: In 2017, ecommerce retailers will realize that
about upcoming fintech trends, which have their legacy payment solutions can no longer meet their
often defied prophecies and expectations. dynamic payment needs. The use of smart payment
Nevertheless, various processes and develop- technologies will become more widespread due to their
ments in the payments industry today will almost cer- ability to provide deeper insight into consumers' preferred
tainly reach maturity in 2017. shopping experiences, analysis of payment anomalies and
inefficiencies, and resultant optimization of key payment
The greatest motivation for fintech innovation and process components among third-party providers.
change in 2016 has been a growing demand on the part
of merchants and consumers alike to create greater 3. Consolidation of POS capabilities
immediacy and ease in payments, solutions and for existing payment methods
technologies. Everyone involved in ecommerce and retail
wants to see consolidation of the wide assortment of The proliferation of electronic payment methods that
payment offerings that have flooded the industry in recent have popped up in recent years – including Apple
years. Pay, Android Pay and several other e-wallets – should
undergo consolidation. Payment suppliers are beginning
Payment process components that were regarded as vital to understand that both merchants and customers are
linchpins in the West have been omitted in emerging confused and frustrated by the many solutions, leading
markets like India and Africa. Superfluous stages are them to stick to old, proven payment methods: credit cards,
also being eliminated in the West, reflecting a desire to debit cards, cash on delivery and others. Customers do not
consolidate the payment process. In this article, I will want to reach checkout only to discover that their e-wallet
examine the processes that I believe will come to a head in cannot be processed on a merchant's POS terminal.
2017 around the globe.
Prediction: Payment providers would do well to focus
1. Cross-border ecommerce on third-party technology that enables the acceptance of
multiple payment options so consumers and merchants
As globalization continues, cross-border e-commerce will alike are less confused and can enjoy the value of these
increase exponentially. Unlike in the past, many ecommerce alternative solutions.
retailers on the verge of international expansion are
already aware of the range of challenges they must face: Consolidated payment terminals capable of processing a
local taxes and high currency conversion rates, downtimes, range of payment methods, similar to the concept of single
costly transaction routing, low conversion rates and more. terminals that process payments from assorted credit card
They are coming to understand that success in foreign schemes, should be a key issue under consideration in the
markets depends on the ability to connect with multiple coming year. Ultimately, a uniform processing solution
third-party providers including banks, acquirers and will benefit all parties involved: the payment provider, the
fraud detectors in each location. merchant and the customer.
Prediction: In 2017, merchants will seek advanced 4. More virtual payments in-store
technologies that provide them with the edge they need
to improve their payment efficiencies. They will become In previous years, some experts predicted customers
increasingly aware of the crucial need for payment would opt for online and mobile payments, and completely
solutions that resolve many challenges connected to abandon the in-store shopping option. But this forecast
expansion in different locations. proved to be wrong – many consumers still enjoy the in-
store shopping experience even when it's just for browsing
2. Big data and smart payment technologies and price comparison purposes. Nevertheless, customers
are demanding a faster, seamless payment stage at every
Due to increasing awareness of the restrictions of legacy shopping channel, and in-store is no exception.
payment solutions, online retailers will make the transition
from siloed systems to smart payment technologies that Prediction: Virtual payments in physical stores will
provide vital data about an enterprise's payment processes become more popular, enabling customers to skip the
and customer preferences. While much has already been physical checkout process by paying with virtual wallets.
A case in point is Starbucks' highly successful closed-loop
40 payment app that supports all major e-wallets and credit/
debit cards, enabling buyers to complete transactions
