Much of my knowledge of payments comes from my daily usage. Like many consumers, I want things that work without me thinking about them. I never especially adopted mobile payments, for instance, because I found using my phone was harder than cash or a card.
1 Contactless Payments. I wait impatiently for people to scan their mobiles when a tap of the card is so much faster. It isn’t new, but it has way less friction. I imagine card transactions have increased as a result, especially given the card advertising I’ve seen.
2 Money Men. This is a book, not a payment mechanism, but it underlies the primary problem with payments: fraud. Money Men is Financial Times reporter Dan McCrumb’s chronicle of his investigative reporting on the Wirecard fraud, a story that continues. It’s a fantastic yarn about the complexity of payments and how it covered up financial deception and international spying. “The complexity was part of the cheat,” he said. “They hid behind it.” McCumb gave the keynote at the 2023 Midwest Acquirers Association conference. Watch the Netflix drama, “Skandal! Bringing Down Wirecard,” for a taste of it.
3 Uniqlo Check Out. I’ve used their payments system several times over the last few years, which still amazes me. You dump your merchandise in a bin and see the total on the POS device, all through individual RF tags on each thing you buy. The Wall Street Journal called it “The Self-Checkout Event Haters Will Love.”
4 Mobile POS. This isn’t a new technology, either. I first experienced them on a trip to Europe maybe a decade ago. One of the farmers at the market I frequent started using them several years ago. I venture that restaurants started using them more during the pandemic times. In any case, I saw them more in use this year than I can remember, including a large device at Chili’s where the server put it on the table and left.
5 FedNow Launch. It was a major milestone for the United States Federal Reserve to launch a new payment system following the rollout of ACH in 1976. Many of the same dynamics of a public institution competing with private banks remain, and the shift to instant payment settlement could make it less expensive for consumers to pay. Our overview on faster payments, including U.S. options for instant payments, is available in our executive technology brief, Faster Payments for Faster Times.
- SEO Powered Content & PR Distribution. Get Amplified Today.
- PlatoData.Network Vertical Generative Ai. Empower Yourself. Access Here.
- PlatoAiStream. Web3 Intelligence. Knowledge Amplified. Access Here.
- PlatoESG. Carbon, CleanTech, Energy, Environment, Solar, Waste Management. Access Here.
- PlatoHealth. Biotech and Clinical Trials Intelligence. Access Here.
- Source: https://fintechrising.co/five-things-i-liked-about-payments-in-2023/
