One billion+ shoppers around the globe will make a digital payment this year. Current and projected usage and adoption rates vary significantly from one region to the next, but we’ve already seen evidence that what happens in one region tends to go quickly to the next. Factor in today’s current environment amid COVID-19 and we can expect to see digital payments continue to soar.

While the continued move towards digital payments doesn’t displace cards from the value chain, it inherently means they’ll become increasingly “invisible” in the transaction. Card issuers (Issuers) have to make sure their card doesn’t get left behind in a wallet customers no longer use, and makes it to the default position in a digital wallet.

Issuers must now be armed with an actionable strategy to ensure they remain relevant in the new world of digital payments. At minimum, every Issuer must ensure they:

• Are equipped to deliver instant and responsive transactions
• Have the means to keep up with the steady stream of continual innovations being introduced by traditional and non-traditional payment providers
• Accelerate the development of core capabilities that deliver personalized customer experiences
• Have the ability to engage with open environments
• Can easily switch new and emerging global payments schemes on or off
• Use analytics to improve the user experience
• Reimagine their value proposition in light of the broader payments ecosystem

On top of all of these new considerations, they must remain compliant, secure, robust and profitable. This demands that many Issuers also seriously consider how the technology they rely on will position them in the new payments ecosystem. Those that do not have systems that support efficient and streamlined operations, reduce regulatory burden, make it easier to uncover new revenue streams and deliver the agility required to continually meet the increasing expectations of today’s customers may risk being left behind, as the world of payments marches forward.

To learn more about how you can devise an actionable strategy to ensure you stake your card’s claim in digital wallets, visit our Payments One Card Services site today.