Payment methods of the future
Which new payment methods will you see more of in 2022? The growth of the global digital payment industry has accelerated since Covid-19 (McKinsey Global Payments Report, 2020) and is yet to face some huge innovative shifts in the way we pay. You may be used to tapping your contactless card or phone everywhere you go, but will this soon be a thing of the past. Here are 3 payment methods of the future you may find become the norm in 2022:
Contactless wearables
Arguably the most exciting and rapidly growing payment trend is contactless wearables, such as watches, rings and even stickers. You can simply hover your watch, ring, or sticker near a contactless machine to complete a transaction on the go. The 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang saw Visa transforming payment technology with contactless gloves and label pins. This provided competitors and spectators with an innovative and convenient payment experience. This would make paying for a beer on your next ski holiday very easy!
Covid-19 has further increased demand for contact-free shopping with many shops and customers ditching cash completely. Wearable payment methods are here to stay, no more finding purses in the voids of handbags or leaving your wallet on the train. Places you may see an increase in these technologies are transport and large events, where people want a fast way to pay without the hassle of carrying a card. Contactless payments have already overtaken London’s infamous Oyster cards, which haven’t been used in over a year due to Covid. Innovative payment methods are also seen in holiday resorts such as Europe’s largest resort, ‘Tropical Islands’ near Berlin. Customers are given a waterproof chip wristband to use in the shops and food outlets for an easy transition from waterslide to restaurant.
The market for wearable payment devices is set to double to almost £60 billion by 2026, so will we see contactless bobble hats and swimming costumes next?
Voice command
Living in a fast-paced society, we are always looking for anything that saves us time, especially if it involves telling a robot to do the labour. Voice commands have allowed us to save time typing in Google searches for years, and now we can even use it to pay. Huge platforms such as PayPal and Venmo use voice activated commands for transactions on the go. This means that while you are doing the dishes or on a run, you can check your balance, confirm transactions, and make transfers. Not only is this time-saving, but it also increases accessibility for the visually impaired who now have more options for banking processes. Where they may have previously relied on friends and family for banking assistance, they now have greater independence and privacy thanks to new features.
“Alexa, buy me some gin!”
Facial recognition
Apple have paved the way for recognising our body parts as a way of payment, which isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Users rely on fingerprint and Face ID for quick mobile transactions such as app downloads. Facial recognition used outside of our smartphones has started to roll out in several countries already. Passengers of the Moscow Metro found their queue times reduced by 3.3 times when face pay was introduced, which is plenty of reason for other transport systems to do the same. We may even see the introduction of sci-fi technologies like iris recognition or even vein-mapping to pay for our shopping, but let’s stick to Face ID first.
Ring pay, face pay, glove pay, oh my! See how else robots are doing the hard work for us here. Which new payment method will be your new favourite way to pay?
