There is no doubt the payments industry is evolving at a very fast pace, and giants are beginning to appear from every corner of the world.
However, varying speeds of adoption of digital and the resistance of local payment methods show that global giants still need to contend with local preferences and strive to understand local markets and newer technologies.
The payment landscape is still very fragmented with local solutions holding their own against global giants and new technologies such as AI and blockchain keeping the payments market very enterprising.
Mobile payment methods are set to revolutionize the landscape even further. With mobile banking set to replace online banking by 2023, paying with a smartphone will become common practice.
But the adoption doesn’t look the same everywhere. There has been a global digital-payments revolution with more and more people paying by card or through their phone. One example is in Sweden,
In the U.S., Visa and Mastercard still dominate the payment landscape and account for almost half of online payments. While PayPal is often viewed as the more modern solution, Visa and Mastercard have recently made tremendous efforts to remain relevant in the digital age, introducing contactless debit and credit cards.
Emerging payment methods are bringing new possibilities for consumers to pay online and new challenges for businesses seeking to accept as many means of payment as possible.
Small businesses looking to extend their reach and to exploit the full possibilities of e-commerce will therefore need to seek out a payment platform that takes into account the diversities of the payments landscape.
