Merchant service is a broader term used for financial services in the businesses. Merchants use these processes to accept payments through debit or credit cards or mobile payments. Online transactions, gift cards, payment gateways all fall under the spectrum of merchant services. With technological innovations, the merchant payment industry has also evolved significantly in recent years.
To be at the top of the game, the independent sales organization (ISOs) needs to keep up with the trends. Following are some top merchant services trends in 2020:
Multichannel Commerce:
Customers use various channels to accept payments, and the vendors need to accept credit or debit payments from phones, tablets, cards, or any other mobile devices. Payments have become an essential element of point-of-sales software, online wallets, etc. Customers want the merchants to provide all the available options for them to pay.
The Cryptocurrencies:
Private transactions revolving around the concept of block-chain has been trending lately. Many companies are building their payment systems keeping this particular trend in mind. These digital assets have become a significant and influential part of the merchant services ecosystem only appears to be set for continued growth.
POS Solutions:
Value-added resellers (VARs), integrated software vendors (ISVs), and payment gateways have increasingly become the market’s key players. This is the result of the merchants’ acceptance of POS solutions. VARs are substantial distribution channels, ISVs are blending in with the payment functionality into the software, and the payment gateways serve to amalgamate between software solution and payment platform.
The Voice-Enabled Payments:
This is the newest big trend in merchant services. Google, Amazon, Apple, and some other companies have offered the acceptance of order or payment of services through the virtual assistants that have become globally popular. Alexa, Siri, and Google assistants can now perform banking and payment services.
The Echo by Amazon:
Many third-party merchants use Amazon for payments, and Echo users can buy from Amazon.com if their card is on file. The merchants have this tremendous opportunity to provide their customers the chance to place an order and pay for the products using the Amazon connected smart device like Echo.
Biometric Technology:
The consumers always want their transactions to occur quickly and efficiently. Biometric technology enables merchants to allow for quick and secure payment processing. Consumers can pay through fingerprints or facial recognition speedily instead of entering their credit card information.
Mobile Wallets:
Mobile wallets could prove to be the next big thing. With the existence of application programming interfaces and open banking, consumers can experience a quick, easy, and efficient way of processing payments.
Ekata:
Ekata is software made to benefit consumers with rapid transactions. Many customers cancel their orders because the process took too long, and Ekata takes that away by making no compromises on speed.
With the full range of merchant services and electronic payments, players in the industry have more scope to deliver value and customer-focused payment experiences.