AI and 5G are pushing Asian payments into a new age

Asian payment markets are speeding ahead with machine learning and 5G, two innovations that will make transactions faster and more "intelligent."

With new and intelligent ways of purchasing and authenticating, the Asian payments market is leading the way to take more transactions online than ever before. However, system upgrades to implement the next generation of technology present new challenges.

The introduction of 5G has big complications for the payments sector, with advancements in Asia taking the lead. Research from Deloitte shows that Asian countries are winning the 5G race, which promises to benefit the payments ecosystem. Increased connectivity and speed could mean shorter transaction times for consumers, quicker and more stable connectivity between merchants and acquirers and even an end to offline payments.

Another growing technology making its way into the retail space is the use of AI. Using big data to monitor for "out of the ordinary" purchases has long been useful for retailers to minimize losses from fraud. However, the next step is to use AI to not only prevent losses but increase revenues. Using intelligent data collection, merchants can use machine learning to drive product recommendations.

This allows them to personalize the shopping experience by deriving meaningful conclusions from behavioral analytics. As well as providing added value for consumers, this boosts profitability rates. Research from Boston Consulting Group found that retailers’ implementation of personalization strategies can drive revenue growth by 10%.

But these advancements require technology upgrades, creating tough choices for internal development and implementation partners. Support from a trusted implementation partner can be key to minimize unexpected delays and costs on the path to service launch.