E-wallets are undoubtedly the future of payment methods as the world continue to transition from cash to digital payment methods. The digital payment market has seen vast developments in the last few years and experts expect that the next decade will see even more advancements in technologies.
As a company whose business includes helping our partners enable digital payments, it is exciting to see how these new technologies will redefine the future and make digital payment methods safer and more convenient.
Here are 5 technologies that is set to drive the e-wallet market in the near future.
Biometric Authentication
One of the biggest reasons for the popularity of e-wallets is that are easy to use and highly secured systems. Biometric authentication is an option to further enhance the security of digital payments. A fingerprint scan is a simpler and much more secure method of proving identity than a PIN. However, today’s biometric authentication technologies also include facial recognition, iris scanning, and even heartbeat analysis and vein mapping.
Today, many e-payment methods feature biometric authentication for security and convenience. Experts expect that the use of biometric authentication will continue to rise in the near future. Juniper Research expects that biometrics will be used for more than 18 billion transactions by 2021, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 83.7% from 2016.
AI-powered payment process
AI is one of the fastest rising technologies in the world today, and is being applied to various industries around the world. For example, AI-powered chatbots are being deployed for frontline customer service and is even being used to write news articles.
In the e-wallet space, AI chatbots have become smart enough to guide customers through payment processes. AI is even capable of handling voice instructions to execute simple financial tasks and transactions. As AI technology continues to improve exponentially with machine learning, the potential applications for e-wallets will only become greater.
Contactless/NFC Payments
Another payment method is that is increasing rapidly in popularity is contactless payments using near-field communication (NFC) technology. Contactless payment makes payments incredibly simple, as users no longer need to handle cash. Users can simply wave their cards or smartphone over a reader to make a payment.
Contactless payment is more secure than PIN technology of credit and debit cards as it transfers the encrypted data from the card or smartphone to the point-of-sale device directly. No more worries about people looking over your shoulder or worries about lost or stolen credit or debit cards.
Mobile Point of Sale
Mobile-point-of-sale (mPOS) is another trending digital payment technology that is set to rise in importance in the near future. According to Global Market Insights, mPOS is expected to have a CAGR of 19% between 2020 to 2026.
mPOS allows merchants to seamlessly accept payments at any location as long as they have a smart device and internet access. mPOS could also revolutionise checkout counters in brick-and-mortar stores as it makes it possible for staff equipped with mPOS devices to accept customer payments anywhere in the store. This makes the checkout process more streamlined and flexible because there is no real need for a central checkout areas with.
Voice-activated payments
The demand for voice interfaces is growing in many industries, including in financial services is growing at an exponential rate. According to a Statista survey, 35% of respondents had made a purchase using either a digital assistant or a smart home speaker and enjoyed the experience. Another 27% indicated that they would like to make a purchase using this method.
Additionally, around 28% of people used smart speakers for making direct payments or sending money. This indicates a bright future for voice-activated payments. Some companies, such as Domino’s, have already begun taking payments via smart speakers. Business Insider expects that voice-activated payments is set to rise from 18.4 million users to 77.9 million by 2022.
Besides these 5 technologies, there are numerous other technologies with immense potential for e-wallets. As such, the e-wallet and digital payment space is still evolving rapidly. However, the most important factor which underpins users comfort in using e-wallets is security. That’s why Apigate’s platform not only enables seamless e-wallet integration, it also provides unparalleled security.
Contact us to see how our secure platform seamlessly integrates multiple types of digital players, such as mobile operators, e-wallet providers and many more, to help you gain access to over 1 billion consumers across the globe.
