These are the most important payment trends in 2016
Trend 1: Internationalization
Many online retailers know the local e-commerce market like the back of their hand and now want to venture abroad. Expansion into the countries of the European Union is usually quite easy - thanks to open borders and duty-free customs. Countries such as Poland or the Czech Republic are particularly suitable target markets, as the competition there is manageable and costs are kept within reasonable limits. Once online retailers have overcome the language barrier, they can gain many new customers. However, care must be taken with payment transactions: Even though there are now uniform standards thanks to SEPA, consumers still prefer the respective national means of payment. It is therefore important that online retailers do not try to establish the payment methods commonly used in this country in the target countries. Instead, it is advisable to take national preferences into account and adopt the established means of payment, such as Przelewy24, which is widely used in Poland.
Trend 2: Omnichannel
As internationalization causes national borders to disappear, other borders are dissolving: those of sales channels. Against this backdrop, online retailers are required to adapt their ordering processes to the preferences and needs of the respective buyer group. Potential customers expect an optimal, smooth and, above all, consistent shopping experience. For example, they want to be able to collect goods purchased online from a local store or pay for the products they have selected in a bricks-and-mortar store via a POS terminal - using the usual online payment methods such as PayPal or instant bank transfer. By providing the payment methods preferred by the respective buyer group and seamlessly linking different sales channels and end devices, store operators have already taken a big step in the right direction: there is now only one single channel that covers the entire range, including various purchasing options.
Trend 3: New commerce concepts such as instant or machine-to-machine payment
It is also expected that new types of commerce and payment concepts will become established in 2016. Instant payment and machine-to-machine payment are already very popular today. Instant payment offers the particular advantage that the corresponding amount is credited to the beneficiary's account in a matter of seconds. Machine-to-machine payment, on the other hand, combines numerous technologies under one roof, which in particular facilitate automatic and convenient ordering and payment between devices. Probably the best-known example of machine-to-machine payment is Amazon's Dash Button: The button, which can be attached to household appliances such as washing machines, dishwashers or coffee machines, allows consumers to order and pay for detergent, washing-up liquid or coffee simply by pressing the networked button. While people still initiate the action themselves, there are already refrigerators that reorder and pay for milk completely autonomously. How such transactions are to be processed is a controversial topic, as authenticating the device for payment processing entails various risks: How can strangers be prevented from misusing a fridge to place orders? Another example of machine-to-machine payment is networked cars that pay for themselves at the filling station. The European Commission has recognized the problems associated with these technologies and is working on the development of corresponding guidelines. However, there are no binding standards yet.author: Mirko Hüllemann, Managing Director Heidelberger Payment GmbH.
