It is the New Year and we have decided to share with you our predictions for the payments industry for the next 12 months.

This is always a tricky task, especially as the last couple of years have brought in many changes and new developments, especially around new payment channels.

We have therefore realised that it is probably almost impossible for one or even two of the payment methods to become really dominant in the market. Instead, retailers who wish to be able to serve as many consumers as possible will need to adopt a multi-channel strategy in terms of what methods to accept.

Right now most brick & mortar shops will accept cash and cards, but in the upcoming year we expect to see more shops adopting additional payment methods, including NFC (near-field communication) and possibly other types of mobile payments.

We also think that the same will happen in the e-commerce industry, where many online shops are already used to accepting not just cards, but also PayPal, bank transfers and others. Those which do not do so currently are likely to follow in order to attract more customers.

We do think that this year will bring with it the emergence of more payment solutions with it, fragmenting the market even more. And because our needs differ hugely, not all of us will want to pay for things in the same way, forcing retailers to adapt to this demand too.

In summary 2012 should be another fantastic year of development in the payments industry and we are already excited about the new ideas being put forward.

Happy New Year!