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Card Payment Trends for 2022

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The GoCardless content team comprises a group of subject-matter experts in multiple fields from across GoCardless. The authors and reviewers work in the sales, marketing, legal, and finance departments. All have in-depth knowledge and experience in various aspects of payment scheme technology and the operating rules applicable to each. The team holds expertise in the well-established payment schemes such as UK Direct Debit, the European SEPA scheme, and the US ACH scheme, as well as in schemes operating in Scandinavia, Australia, and New Zealand. See full bio

Last editedMar 20222 min read

The payments industry has undergone a huge transformation – especially when it comes to offering customers a more frictionless experience at checkout. There’s also been a significant shift towards Open Banking, leading to increased competition in the payment space, with companies having to adapt or risk getting left behind.

In this post, we’ll look at some of the main payment processing trends to look out for in 2022.

Card payment trends to look out for

Consumers are becoming more familiar with new payment technologies, including the use of digital wallets and QR-based solutions. These card payment trends are predicted to play a big part in getting shoppers back in store, with contactless payments now the payment option of choice for many consumers.

Invisible payments are also predicted to be on the rise. These payments occur in the background, almost automatically, and require consumers to do little more than opt in on a smartphone app – or simply say ‘yes’ to complete a transaction.

Checkout-free stores like Amazon Go use a combination of QR codes, cameras and sensors, meaning that shoppers can walk into the store, grab what they want and then walk out of the store without having to scan items or check out at a kiosk to pay.

Payment security trends

Regulatory controls look due to tighten up, with Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) requiring businesses to add extra layers of security. This will involve asking banks to perform additional checks to authenticate card holders’ identities when they’re paying for items. Online merchants need to be prepared for the fact their customers will have to provide two forms of identification to their bank when they’re shopping with them.

When it comes to payment security trends, Digital IDs may also be in place sooner than anticipated. The EU is aiming to launch an identity verification framework which will also have an effect on ecommerce merchants.

Ecommerce payment trends

An increasingly large number of online payments are now taking place over mobile devices. Mobile commerce has been given a boost by the rise of branded shopping apps, 5G and ever more seamless social shopping experiences. All of these things combined mean we can expect a lot more shopping over mobile in 2022.

BNPL (buy now pay later) is one of the new ecommerce payment trends that’s predicted to become even more popular as a way to purchase. These types of instalment plans are relatively new to the world of ecommerce, and they’re often used by younger shoppers with sparse credit histories, i.e., people who normally pay via debit cards. With Amazon now adding a BNPL option at checkout, BNPL looks certain to become a widespread option that’s taken up by other ecommerce merchants.

Payment processing trends: Real-time payments

Real-time payments are transforming the way transactions are taking place. Real-time payment (RTP) technology enables the instant settlement of digital transactions without any need for clearance. Many retail organisations are working on implementing these kinds of payments into their infrastructures. For consumers, this means not having to wait to move funds from a mobile payment app into a bank account. For retailers, it means faster processing and the ability to liquify funds instantly.

To remain relevant and grow their customer base, merchants will need to follow and adapt to the new payment trends and technologies. The change in consumer preferences around payment is currently accelerating in a way previously unrecognised, so companies that aren’t on board need to rethink their approach or get left behind. We hope this post has given you a glimpse of some payment processing trends to look out for.

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