From biometric credit cards to online B2B payment methods, plan for the trends that will shape the 2021 online payment solutions landscape.

There is very little about our lives that didn't change drastically in 2020 - which will go down in history as the year of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent global economic upheaval. The world has entered a new era of rapidly advancing digital technology that will drastically reshape how we fund our day-to-day.

Banks have long been the financial giants that control the world's payment systems, but they are in for the fight of their life in order to keep that status. Online payment solutions now include cryptocurrencies, digital wallets, and third-party one-click payment solutions. 

In this post we'll explore the three most important online payment solutions to watch in the year ahead.

2021 Trends in Online Payment Solutions

Possibly the inevitable evolution of online payment solutions, digital payment trends promise more secure and faster transactions with significantly lower processing fees. Bank-issued debit cards and credit card companies are not surprisingly scrabbling to keep control of the payments market in 2021 by improving and expanding the means by which they charge your account, but they are being met with fierce competition as a growing number of tech companies add payment solutions to their platforms.

1. Contactless Digital Payments

No matter if they are paying for a meal at a local café or ordering a new shirt from an online retailer, customers want their payments to go through securely, quickly, and nowadays without even handing over their debit/credit card. The handy E-wallet has long been available for smartphone users (limited availability by country), but their use has exploded in 2020 and the trend shows no sign of slowing down.

The big players like Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, and Google Pay are still the most popular means of paying with your smartphone. These apps store your credit card information on the phone and transmit it by radio-frequency identification (RFI) to the payment terminal. With identity theft a major concern of both consumers and retailers, contactless payments offer significantly more protection against payment fraud and third-party "payments as a service" wallets are able to be topped up with virtually any currency including crypto.

2. Biometric Credit Cards

2021 is the year of the "smart credit card" with 2.5 million biometric credit cards expected to find their way into the wallets of consumers. Adoption of biometric technology for payments has been a long time coming with many fraud experts championing them as the perfectly secure payments solution.

One of the leading factors fueling this trend is the battle against credit card theft and fraud. These cards may cost more to produce but promise to make up for the increased initial investment with fraud prevention.  

3. Fintech Targets B2B

Traditionally speaking, business to business transactions haven't seen much of the same changes largely due to their level of complexity. With the huge success of Stripe and Square as trusted secure payment solutions, you can expect more and more B2B transactions to be included in 2021.

After all, businesses want and need quick, secure, and convenient payment solutions just as much, if not more, than individuals. With increasingly complex payments software, driven by deep learning AI, forward-thinking companies are looking to streamline and automate their payment solutions to increase efficiency and transaction security. 

Increasingly Secure Payments Future

The future of online payment solutions is looking bright, but if 2020 has taught us anything, we should expect the unexpected. One important concept that will never change - if it is valuable it must be diligently protected.  Let Vesta take on your risk management with our complete CNP zero liability fraud protection. Request a demo today, we guarantee you will be glad you did.