What technologies develop mobile payments

Original author: Donald Bush
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Get rid of cash and start paying for everything with a smartphone? Consumer attachment to their smartphones has led to an explosive growth in the popularity of mobile wallets.

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But only the strongest survive. In the presence of so many options, including the ability to create their own types of mobile payments, businesses are making every effort to distinguish fleeting trends from useful long-term phenomena.

When it comes to the future of mobile payments, several factors play an important role: a set of available payment technologies (for example, mobile wallets and payment platforms), the revolutionary influence of innovations such as AI, machine learning (MO) and the blockchain, and, of course, such a determining factor for all of the above, as popularity with consumers and their recognition. Let's look at the main factors and how consumer preferences will affect the future of mobile payments.

More payments - more problems


First, let's talk about payment technologies. If you look at the current state of mobile wallets, you’ll get the impression that almost all of the companies working with customers, from Starbucks to technology giants like Apple and PayPal, are already working in this segment. However, according to this year conducted the studymobile payments and fraud, merchants with the exception of PayPay are still reluctant to accept payment using mobile wallets. According to the study, only 22% of them offer a similar payment method. What is the most likely reason for this state of affairs? Most merchants (70%) expect that the mass distribution of mobile wallets will occur only in 2-5 years, and therefore they do not see the need to rush to add them to their lists of payment methods right now.

So what does the future of wallets look like? As in other industries, over the next few years we will continue to observe the rise of this phenomenon and the increase in the number of available options. Growth will be followed by a collapse, as a result of which various mergers will occur. The market will come to the settled state and clear leaders will appear on it. What will allow leaders to get ahead? This will be decided by the consumer. Over the next few years, buyers, and the main driving force in their ranks - representatives of the Millennial generation - will make various decisions. It is the opinion of this category of customers will be decisive.

Innovation blocks and chains


Another factor affecting the future of mobile payments is innovation. In the past few years, there has been an increase in two technology industries: artificial intelligence and machine learning. The use of AI and MO is associated with certain common fears in society.

Anyway, I believe that instead of problems, AI will bring improved workflows through the use of machine learning and help human workers create better products and make better decisions. It should be noted that an attempt to bet on AI alone can lead to negative consequences. Artificial intelligence and machine learning must go hand in hand with human observation and evaluation. This will allow to combine human wisdom with the ability of the computer to “sift” and analyze large amounts of data that the human consciousness is unable to capture.

Despite the fact that AI and MoD have already become leaders of popular technologies, there are other noteworthy developments. For example, the blockchain, which has not yet become so familiar, has the potential to have a major impact in the future. Technology created for Bitcoin technology, the name of which has already become a new buzzword in the technology industry, is a digital registry, whose transactions are publicly available and recorded in chronological order. The buzz around the blockchain is getting louder, especially when it comes to mobile payments. A recent Juniper study found that 57% of firms are either testing blockchain applications to simplify financial transactions, or have already deployed such systems.

In general, integrating elements of new technology into systems of the previous generation is not easy. Most companies are not eager to dispose of systems that have served many years in exchange for the opportunity to try some new technology. As a result, many companies simply do not have special departments for research and development, which limits their capabilities when it comes to extracting the benefits of the newest buzzwords that have appeared in the industry. An example would be ridesharing services that revolutionized the transportation industry that has not changed over many decades. The only difference between the new model is the addition of a mobile wallet, excluding the transfer of cash. Add a taxi operator one single innovation to your business, ridesharingovye companies would not swallow it.

Consumers as the main driver of technology distribution


But as we have already witnessed this in the case of the speedy rise of ridesharing and other revolutionary technologies, companies that do not keep up with the widely spread technologies end up in danger of falling behind life. And again, let's pay attention to the blockchain. Now it is perceived as something unusual, but it is likely that in a few years or decades this technology will turn into a well-known, common solution. Blockchain has all the necessary elements to have the most dramatic impact on the underlying processes of several industries at once, including mobile payments as a whole. In addition to these, it can trigger changes in approaches to security, direct lending, banking access, and a number of other payment related processes.

Banking, legal practice and others relying on working with publicly available documents or materials of the profession, could receive considerable benefits from the mechanisms of instant check, and the overall smoothness of work that blockchain technology offers. But of course, companies must evaluate not only the potential of a new technology, but also the multitude of risks associated with it. To date, there are several obstacles to the widespread blockchain. This is not only a concern about security, but also a slow pace of technological upgrading of industries that are favorable for blockchain.

The main driver of growth and distribution of any new technology is consumer demand. An example of a cryptocurrency like Bitcoin shows that as long as there is no demand, the technology or product is in limbo. Companies hoping to get the most out of innovation should make sure that the technologies they are interested in will pass the test of time. In addition, they should be fully aware of what investments will be required to obtain the necessary innovative effect and whether or not the transition to new technologies can lead to the desired results.

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