Navigate the future of the financial world with these three payment pointers

As the saying goes: If you’re early, you’re on time, and if you’re on time, you’re late. Now, more than ever, it pays to plan ahead – and stay on top of what’s coming next.

In today’s fast-paced and ever-changing financial world, investment in the fintech space is increasing rapidly with developments in innovation technology. Consumer behaviors and their payment expectations are right in step. As payments continue to evolve, they’ll play an increasingly significant role in shaping decisions in the financial environment, including where businesses turn for the latest payment solutions and how they navigate a competitive marketplace to meet emerging payment preferences.

The financial services industry is pivoting toward a digital-transformation approach as an increased expectation for convenience and accessibility spans the end-to-end financial services experience, including the payments process. A foresighted payments strategy will impact the future of merchant services and business growth, so organizations should prioritize their payments processes, optimizing them to ensure they support the new requirements. Here, we’ll take a closer look at three important payments trends to help you prepare for what lies ahead.

Make trust and confidence a priority

While more and more consumers welcome the convenience and accessibility of online financial services, nurturing their trust and confidence should remain a focus. Propelled by mobile growth and generations of tech-savvy customers, digital payments are commonplace, which makes payment security essential. Assuring the authenticity of an online transaction – and providing proof that the security of sensitive personal information will be maintained – is monumental toward generating the trust and confidence of your online consumers. Featuring payment security industry logos and accreditations can have a positive impact on the perception of your online payment process.

Payment transparency is also a deciding issue when it comes to a potential customer’s assessment of reliability. Published in our 2020 Financial Services Report, 15% of respondents said they would not pay for a financial service if brands don’t show available payment methods at the beginning of the purchase. Their favorite payment method is preferred for a reason – make sure you’re upfront about available options early in the payment process.

Payment preferences do make an impact

Our report also found that 37% of the respondents said they’d abandon their cart if they can’t pay using their preferred payment method. While credit and debit cards remain popular payment methods, digital wallets are becoming increasingly commonplace, employing PayPal, Alipay, Apple Pay and WeChat as well as more localized preferences. Convenience and speed regularly appear as key channel deciding factors among consumers around the world. Giving buyers a familiar and preferred payment method including local alternatives facilitates ease of payment and can maximize customer acceptance and retention.

But who’s using what? Payment and device preferences can vary significantly between countries, even continents. Citizens from all over the world have their own alternative payment methods – or APMs – like Argentinians’ Mercado Pago and Colombians’ Efecty. In India, its Paytm. Germans use Sofort, and the Spanish have Bizum. So how do you gain access to a world of APMs? First, it’s important to know the regional payments landscape.

Get a regional point of view

Different global regions have different payment needs and their own motivating factors for payment preferences. In emerging nations, greater mobile access is beginning to transform the financial landscape, giving these substantial and underserved populations a new connection to digital services. Meanwhile, countries like Japan, Australia, the U.S. and those in Western Europe are experiencing rapid digital growth, further driven by support for financial innovation. Understanding these regional drivers can give insight into what shapes consumer behaviors and financial inclinations on a national level, helping you create a more inclusive, localized payment experience and reach a wider global audience.

Get more from Worldpay

As a global leader, we can help financial services brands – through a single integration – create a preferred and trusted local payment experience the world over. With connections to 300 payment methods, including a range of digital wallets, we’re well positioned to offer strategic payments insights. For a more detailed view of where we see the future of financial services going, you can download our 2020 Financial Services Report here.