We were excited to attend the Transact 2022 event – powered by ETA – in person after a three-year interruption. The tradeshow, held at Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, was a booming success, with a refreshing, celebratory atmosphere and over 2,500 digital payments industry professionals in attendance.
In light of many significant changes in the world of payments – from the launch of innovative payments acceptance products to creating new companies, players, and segments that are continuing to expand the industry – there was a lot to be discussed during the three-day event.
The standout takeaway: The payments industry is rapidly evolving. There is a bright and exciting future for payments throughout the entire market, from financial institutions, payment companies, FinTech, and anyone involved in the payments ecosystem.
Digital Transformation
SaaS-based solutions seem to be garnering a vast amount of interest, and the market is rapidly evolving to create best-of-breed solutions. In 2020, SaaS was the largest market segment within the global cloud solutions industry; and it is continuing to grow. It’s no wonder, as SaaS solutions are:
- a simpler and faster way to access and manage payments
- easier to set up and drive adoption
- faster to deploy – Time-To-Market (TTM) is a considerable benefit for SaaS payment solutions
- great for delivering seamless user experiences
- an easier way to access payment data and insights
However, saas-based solutions are not without their challenges. For example, security concerns with cloud-based solutions remain top of mind for many individuals. And there is still significant investment in time and resources needed to shift infrastructure from on-premises to the cloud.
Payment Analytics
The demand for payment analytics is strong. The power of data management and intelligent insight is well-known in the payments industry – but the ability to access it is lacking.
Collecting data and discovering the value embedded in payments enables better decision-making across every area of the payments ecosystem.
The benefits of payment analytics are clear:
- Acquirers – Payment analytics provide more flexibility and transparency, helping to adapt their systems to any merchant structure.
- Retailers – Analytics help track consumer behavior, leading to increased customer satisfaction and a boost in revenue.
- Card issuers – The data provides solutions that allow them to innovate and define their products more dynamically.
- Operations managers – Payment analytics allow clear visibility into the payment processes, helping to avoid processing delays and other issues.
Payment analytics only works if you can access useable information and act on its findings. Simple tools, fast reporting, and easy customization of reports are vital if any solution is effective.
The evolving digital payments market
As businesses and consumers turn to eCommerce and digital shopping, digital payment options continue to increase. Emerging technologies like AI and machine learning are making seamless digital payments possible and ensuring greater fraud protection and security.
Three newer technology trends most talked about at the tradeshow were:
- Cryptocurrency
- Buy-Now-Pay-Later (BNPL)
- Real-Time Payments
As the cryptocurrency market grows too big to ignore, more and more institutional investors have begun to recognize this asset class as a legitimate investment option. Full-fledged regulation is still some way off, but macro-economic ‘adoption’ of blockchain/digital money is expected to intensify.
The economic fallout of the pandemic is pushing millions of consumers toward digital financing, with signs that some companies will outcompete others and capture more of the market share. The BNPL industry has modernized traditional layaway and instalment payments to offer consumers flexible and generally more affordable payment options.
There’s no denying the innovations and benefits to global enterprise brought about by Real-Time Payments (RTP). The global Real-Time Payments market size was valued at US$10.64 billion in 2020. It’s expected to expand at a CAGR of 33% by 2028. Real-Time payments offer faster, more consistent means of paying compared to some legacy methods, which could take days to reach a recipient. This newer, more seamless way to make financial transactions will affect consumers, businesses, and world governments socially, culturally, and economically.
How IR can optimize your payments
With the payments industry evolving at such an astounding rate, organizations need to find a way to effectively manage booming transaction volumes and an increasingly complex payments environment.
Throughout the key topics discussed at the tradeshow, payment analytics brings everything together. With access to all your traditional payment data and what’s happening inside your payment system in real-time, you have complete insight over your payment environment.
IR’s Transact suite of solutions, built on the powerful Prognosis platform, uses dynamic visualization tools to simplify the complexity of managing modern payments ecosystems. Transact brings you real-time visibility and unparalleled actionable insights into transactions, turning data into intelligence, elevating customer satisfaction, and delivering a flawless payment experience every time.
Want to know more about payment analytics? Check out our webinar on "How payment analytics data can be used to improve customer experience."
