2020 has been one of the most transformational years for the payments industry, significantly altering the way we pay for goods and services across all generations and globally. Though even before the pandemic happened, payments have been gearing up to the change, with Covid-19 accelerating the shift towards digital.
Capgemini has released a new report, “Payments Top Trends 2021” to show the drivers, opportunities and risks shaping financial services in the coming year. The report has revealed that 2021 will bring a greater focus on investment on innovative technology, while the ongoing rise of cashless payments mean executives shall begin to take a greater focus on security.
Capgemini’s Payments Trends 2021 report explores the industry-shaping trends set to define the next year in the sector, including:
- Customer is (still) king – the customer experience will continue to dominate the executive priorities and will remain a focal point in 2021. Banks shall continually adopt a curate-and-collaborate approach to develop in-house capabilities by collaborating with agile players.
- Continued rise of non-cash transactions – Covid-19 has fast tracked alternative payment adoption. We are seeing this growth being driven by smartphone penetration, booming e-commerce, and adoption of digital wallets – while mobile and QR-code payment innovations are also helping drive the shift.
- Non-cash payments do not come without risk – While investments in emerging technologies upsurge, payments firms augment their focus to combat fraud and fortify data security. This will be cemented through creating a unified industry framework to combat fraud becomes the priority, especially given the rise of open networks.
- A looming BigTech presence– Tech giants are steadily expanding their presence, fortifying market share in payments as a gateway into expanding into broader financial services. By focussing on one-stop-shop super/lifestyle apps, they have strengthened their ecosystems allowing them to extend into areas including wealth management, insurance, lending, SME services, checking accounts.
To find out more or view the report in full click here.
