From Apple Pay to Zelle: 7 trends shaking up the future of payments

As digital payments rise sharply, traditional banking providers struggle to keep up. Here's what banks and credit unions need to know to remain competitive in the year to come — everything from digital wallets and mobile P2P, to Zelle, Venmo, and GAFA threats like Apple Pay.

Here’s everything you need to know about payments in the year to come — from digital wallets and mobile P2P to Venmo, Zelle, and Apple Pay.

Few industries have been rocked by digital disruption as much as banking. This is particularly evident in the payments space, where dominant incumbents must contend with a dizzying onslaught of challenges.

According to a report from Accenture, new payment solutions from digital competitors, fintechs and challenger banks are now “threatening the very existence of traditional players.”

And despite the plethora of options consumers have today, they consciously think about payments less than they have in the past. As Accenture explains, payments in the digital age are quickly becoming “invisible.” For example, Accenture cites voice-enabled solutions powered by natural language processing as an emerging trend that could not only upend traditional physical payments but even newer mobile payment tools. Given the popularity of Alexa and its ilk, that’s not at all far-fetched.

 

continue reading »