Health and safety remained top-of-mind for consumers throughout 2020 as the Covid-19 pandemic triggered a desire for convenient, reliable, and safe financial transactions. In fact, according to Visa’s Back to Business Study: 2021 Outlook, contactless purchasing represented almost half (43%) of all “face-to-face transactions around the world” during 2020.
As we head into the latter half of 2021, small businesses are already anticipating a need to enhance and upgrade their fintech so that their financial transactions can be secure, convenient, and streamlined.
Many small businesses are already committing to improving their fraud management, with almost half of the respondents in Visa’s study saying they “believe security and fraud management software is a critical area of investment to meet consumer needs.”
Enhancing Security and Fraud Management
The ease and speed with which consumers can make digital payments also opens the door to increased financial risk, both for small businesses and their customers. Thankfully, protecting digital transactions is just a matter of using the right tools and collaborating with experienced digital commerce partners.
Small companies can enhance their fraud protections and increase their financial security by investing in fraud management software. Using fraud management software services improves the security of financial transactions and builds customer confidence, increases revenue, and establishes a more robust economic outlook.
Many small businesses are already committing to improving their fraud management, with almost half of the respondents in Visa’s study saying they “believe security and fraud management software is a critical area of investment to meet consumer needs.”
Convenience, Security, and Reliability
Advancements in contactless purchasing, including tap-to-pay and tap-to-phone, further enhance the purchasing experience’s safety and ease. According to the Visa study, small businesses expect to continue to expand their use of these technologies:
Already, 41% of small businesses responding to the study said they believe “the ability to accept payments via mobile device or untethered to a point-of-sale is a critical area of investment.”
Tap-to-phone and other contactless purchasing options will continue to grow in 2021 and 2022 as consumers, and small businesses continue to look for options that minimize the physical purchasing experience.
Payment Options for Flexibility and Convenience
It is anticipated that consumers will continue to gravitate to alternative payments that create more convenience and flexibility in the purchasing process. Many small businesses are incorporating “Buy Now, Pay Later” installment payment options. According to Visa’s study, the “Buy Now, Pay Later” platform is growing 2.5x faster than credit card purchases, prompting 36% of small businesses to deem installments for online payments as “a critical area of investment.”
“Buy Now, Pay Later” platform is growing 2.5x faster than credit card purchases, prompting 36% of small businesses to deem installments for online payments as “a critical area of investment.”
The Omnichannel Experience
Finally, by digitizing their backend payment operations, small businesses can continue to provide their customers with a streamlined purchasing experience. As customers traverse the multi-touchpoint infrastructure of the point-of-sale experience, each interaction seamlessly connects to the next so that online purchases continue to be fast and straightforward. Because these real-time payment solutions can be initiated by small businesses without costly backend infrastructure investments, adopting these technologies is easy and cost-effective. 31% of small businesses say that the ability to digitize backend payment operations is “a critical area of investment.”
Accelerated by consumer demands in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, small businesses are beginning to understand the need to adopt new forms of technology that can streamline and enhance the customer purchasing experience. Digital payments are here to stay. From payment tools to fraud management, these technologies allow small businesses to provide a seamless point-of-sale experience that is safe and secure.
At PayTech Trust, we offer secure merchant accounts and web-based solutions for businesses of all sizes. With our collaborative suite of services and world-class cybersecurity protocols, PayTech Trust has the experience and the expertise to help your business move safely into the world of online credit card processing.
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