In broad terms, the payments landscape (which is still very paper or physical form-based in so many ways) will continue to switch inexorably to an online environment at many levels with “barcode type” paper to replace physical monetary exchange products like cheques and cash in the next few years and possibly even Card (debit, credit and pre-paid) in the more distant future. The market will increasingly use smart phone and PC tablet as a channel, although the infrastructure required to support this will take as long as 20 years to make the full transition.

Online person-to-person or P2P payments visit https://www.piikanimoney.org/ will increase using mobile devices or social network sites as the initiation point. In the early days of this transition, bank account details will need to be known but accessing and using cleared funds (as the way customers want to interact will each) will see more new players emerging outside of the traditional banking community.

While banks are competing with each other for market share, new players entirely are likely to be able to capture payment market share away from their base, by better satisfying the needs of market. PayPal, Google & Apple are good examples of this or it may be entirely new companies that are yet to become well-known.

The cultural shift to perform everyday functions on-line is still in its infancy. While on-line shopping is growing exponentially, other behaviour will move more towards online. For example, full digital bill presentment and payment services.

So, if that’s the general scene, let’s look at what might happen under a few specific headings

TIMELINESS & CHOICE

Customers want to choose when they pay, day or night, 24/7, 365 days of the year and whether to pay ‘just in time’ or in real time. Customers want very wide payment type options and the ability to choose which option best suits each payment activity.

In many cases, recipients of funds prefer real-time or same-day settlement. Surety of settlement in real time will be critical in most cases.

ACCESSIBILITY

Customers want to access the same payment options regardless of the channel by which they pay. For example, this may be the same payment choice regardless of whether they are in a store, at an on-line store or paying a bill.

Merchants will increasingly prefer to receive funds from the same payment options, regardless of channel, to reduce vendor management and improve internal efficiencies.

EASE OF USE

Customer like payment types that are easy to use and one they understand and trust. Mobile, PC tablet & social network usage is making the introduction of new payment processes easier to manage and educate the market, but present other challenges for the payment industry as a whole.

EASE OF INTEGRATION WITH OTHER PROCESSES

Online payments will grow steadily and will ultimately dominate the payment landscape. However, capability and capacity to integrate with internal computer systems will be a barrier that will need to be overcome. Seamless integration with Point-of-Sale systems, on-line store, ERP, inventory systems and billing engines will be a critical factor.

Cloud-based technology will assist in keeping capital outlay lower and at manageable levels while providing high speed access to the payment instruments and associated internal systems.