The Future is Bright…The Future is Alternative Payments

According to a new report by GP Bullhound on the future of technology payments, the use of the humble credit card is fading as virtual and physical payments are instead becoming one-click mobile checkouts.

It is something I believe everyone in the industry saw coming: this new report states that alternative payments as a group are forecast to account for close to 60% of the total online transaction value by 2017 – up from 43% in 2012. Alternative payment methods are the driving force behind big business now, which I have seen first-hand. I know one reason why my payment processing business, North Payments, is so successful is because we will offer any kind of alternative payment the merchant wants, be it China Union Pay, Google Wallet or PayPal, because these forms of payment are becoming more and more popular to the consumer, due to safety and security at checkout and ease of payment.

Mobile payments are becoming one of the biggest trends in alternative payments. Now companies like Apple (with their creation Apple Pay) have seen the huge money-making potential in alternative payment products so consumers can buy goods and services easier, faster and with more security than using a credit card online or at the checkout.

We saw an exciting gap in the market and North Payments has become one of the first payment processing companies in Europe to offer Apple Pay as an alternative payment, which is proving extremely popular method of payment for our merchants to offer.

Technology is built to fit around consumer’s lifestyles, which are faster and busier than ever before. If companies can offer services which speed up or simplify things, such as making a transaction, then consumers will latch on to these technologies quickly. If people can avoid carrying around credit cards but still make payments safely and easily then they will.

In many ways, the mobile is this bridge between the online and the offline world, providing the consumer with new ways to transact while broadening the scope of what is currently defined as an “online payment transaction”.

The future, I believe will continue towards developing payment methods that make it as easy as possible for the consumer to complete an online purchase, no matter from which type of device.