Payments Trends to Watch in 2017

Between lots of new technology, evolving regulations, and emerging threats to data security, 2017 is gearing up to be an exciting year in the payments space.  Here are Kubera’s Payment's stories to watch for 2017.

Tech Breakthroughs

Some of the most exciting payments stories to watch in 2017 will surround a litany of emerging technology.  Already, biometrics are being touted as the hot new thing in security, with technologists predicting biometric identification like fingerprints and retina scans will replace pesky PIN codes and even bypass mobile payments all together.  The Internet of Things, also known as IoT, which entails the connection of daily objects, from televisions to refrigerators, to the Internet, is also anticipated to have a huge impact.  

Fintech

Fintech will continue to be a major story to follow in 2017.  Experts say that insurance is particularly poised for disruption by the Fintech (or “InsurTech”) industry this year.  Fintech is also likely to have an especially big impact in emerging markets.  In fact, Fintech is now such a broad term, it will continue to splinter into more niche areas like RegTech, which describes technologies that assess risk.  But the sector’s efforts to disrupt the banking sector may be hampered by new regulations and pushback from the big banks.  Blockchain, the technology behind digital currency bitcoin, is also making its way into the mainstream, with interesting implications for the banking sector.

Payments Wars

While the mobile payments wars between firms like Apple and Google will continue into 2017, the bigger story will be more innovative and aggressive payments moves by companies like Amazon, which recently announced a new grocery delivery service and rewards program to compete with Costco.  Amazon’s initiatives signal that companies hoping to compete in the payments space will increasingly look for more creative ways that go beyond a mobile payments app to do so.

Canadian Payments Rules

Canada is preparing to overhaul its payments settlement system, which settles $197 billion worth of payments every day.  Although the changes will initially be behind the scenes for consumers, the changes will eventually impact the way goods are bought, money is transferred, and the type of information that can be attached to transactions.  

Cybersecurity

Finally, cybersecurity will undoubtedly endure as one of the biggest stories of the year, both in the payments space and more broadly.  A report recently released by Cisco found that the cost of data breaches now exceeds 20 percent of firms’ revenue, making the need to mitigate security risks paramount for all organizations.  At the regulatory level, payments-watchers should keep an eye on the Trump Whitehouse, which aims to introduce action on cybersecurity this year.   As these areas and more evolve, follow Kubera on Twitter to keep up with the latest in payments news.  If you are interested in discussing the implications for your business, our team of payments experts is always happy to chat!