Technological changes have been with us for a very long time. They affect our daily lives. A great example of this is smartphones, which replace many other devices. They affect, for example, the method of our payments. We use mobile phones for payments more and more often. What will be the role of mobile payments in the future of commerce?
Let’s go back to the beginning of the 21st century in Poland. Most people use cash on a daily basis, few have a mobile phone. A lot of people are just starting to get to know the internet. The network is undeveloped, few people have access to the Internet on a daily basis. 20 years later, cash is not so popular anymore, practically everyone has a smartphone, and access to the Internet is common, especially from a phone. This shows that in 20 years, there have been gigantic changes that have affected our lives. Changes can be noticed in payments. Only in the last few years cash and payment cards have been replaced by contactless payments by phone, e-wallets, and online payment systems. In Poland, BLIK, which is used more often than cards, has become a huge success! Lots of people use it to pay in stores, send money to each other, and just use a smartphone.
This is proof that today smartphones are becoming a key element of our lives. One device replaces a computer, radio, photographic camera, video camera, TV, game consoles, calculator, wallet, watch, flashlight and many other things. Wallets are especially important. We are dealing with classic e-wallets such as PayPal, Skrill, Revolut, ecoPayz, which are used to store money, make payments, exchange currencies and cryptocurrencies. They can be also used in places like kasyno online bez depozytu. Next to them, there are electronic wallets such as Apple Pay, Google, Google Wallet, Samsung Pay, which can be used for payments, storing digital versions of cards, personal documents such as a passport, driving license, as well as membership cards from stores.
The future of commerce
When in 2020 the whole world was struggling with the coronavirus, our approach to shopping or business changed significantly. First of all, the online shopping industry has seen a huge development. Many companies have temporarily or permanently closed their stores in cities, turning their attention to online shopping. As a result, we bought and continue to buy online a lot more. A huge increase in turnover was recorded by platforms such as Allegro, Amazon, Aliexpress. This also has an impact on the development of the transport industry. The demand for delivery drivers, people working in warehouses, and logistics has increased.
Although the lockdown is now behind us, many people still prefer to shop online. It is simply convenient because you can quickly and comfortably buy without leaving your home. For this, mobile payments are often used, which further affects the quality of transactions. The future of commerce is multi-channel. The biggest brands, despite the trends to sell online, should also think about traditional ways of selling. That’s why big clothing brands, and electronics stores still have chain stores, and they sell online. Thanks to this, the customer has a choice and can decide on a more comfortable option. You can see a lot of changes in the approach to trading. The most important of them are:
Improving customer service at the checkout – customers can now pay by phone in online and stationary stores, associate a loyalty card with a payment method and pay in the currency of their choice.
Introduction of multiple payment methods – In the past, you could pay in online stores mainly by card, through a bank. Today, we have plenty of e-wallets, online payments and even cryptocurrency to choose from. You can even choose your currency in international stores.
Many delivery methods – both smaller and larger stores offer us several delivery methods. You can choose to use the post office, courier companies, pick up products at selected points.
Better customer service – today’s companies focus on improved customer service, because in this way you can retain customers for longer. It offers quick shopping, promotions, discounts, and loyalty cards.
The role of mobile payments
Today, many people choose mobile payments because they value the many advantages of such solutions. Here are the most important of them.
Availability
Everyone has a smartphone today, so they can easily download a bank application as well as an e-wallet.
Variety of solutions
You can have both a banking application and many e-wallets on your phone. As a result, you always have a large selection of options.
All in one
The smartphone works a bit like a classic wallet. You can have payment applications, NFC, virtual cards, and loyalty cards in it. You can shop and pay with just your smartphone.
Security
Mobile payments provide a high level of security. You can secure access by PIN, password, and biometric authentication. It’s much better than traditional payment methods.
More options
Many mobile payments, especially e-wallets, are not just about paying. They allow you to exchange currencies, buy and sell cryptocurrencies, earning cashback.
All this makes mobile payments more and more popular today. They are always with us – just take out the phone and pay with a few clicks, send money. Fast transfers allow you to pay immediately, and the seller will receive a confirmation on his phone. This allows you to often avoid payment terminals. As smartphones are commonplace, new technologies are being introduced to them. Perhaps we will see increasingly faster and more universal methods that will change the payment market even more. Within 10-20 years, mobile payments in many countries could not only remove plastic Visa and MasterCard cards from the market, but also cash. We use digital money, and we can have virtual cards on our smartphones. Changes in domestic and international trade will increasingly depend on mobile solutions. We are already going beyond national solutions (banks) by using international solutions (e-wallets). This gives us many more possibilities.
