1. Payments aren’t getting easier

Stating that there has been innovation across the physical store with the establishment of QR codes, implementation of payments across social media platforms such as WhatsApp and Instagram, or the advancement of voice authentication and bots to allow consumers to transact from their sofas, Leger questioned: “what does all this innovation mean for us?”

Montemagno added that 20 years ago, merchants that wanted to launch activity with an online store could ask a bank or a local payments services provider to help set them up. Today, it’s a different story with a lot more complexity.

“Now, there are many more layers of institutions reaching out directly to these merchants such as independent software vendors or various service resellers. This means that you have to compete with a great variety of different players, but at the same time, you have your unique opportunity to partner with them.”

Leger continued: “We all know that merchants do not have one single vendor that they partner with; they partner with many vendors when they want to set up the payment touchpoints.” The key here is to leverage technology that allows for connection with the consumer, enables them to make secure payments and creates trust - because with the proliferation of technologies such as IoT, the number of touchpoints will only increase.

2. What started online can be moved instore

It is evident that consumers have embraced new digital forms of commerce and payments. Further accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic, these elements have completely reshaped consumer expectations when they shop. Montemagno stated that consumers expect a large variety of payments options that are relevant to them, extremely efficient payments flow that are personalised for their environments, and rewards, loyalty schemes and discounted offers.

“Every time we ask a question, we want to be served. And as consumers have come to expect this to be seamlessly included in the same transactional experience, we’ve set the bar very, very high.” Montemagno believes that this is a major chance for the payments industry to redefine commerce, referencing the fact that 75% of commerce will continue to remain in store for the foreseeable future.

3. Verticalisation requires cooperation

While it is clear what is expected from consumers, what does this mean for the payments industry? Looking at other sectors such as hospitality, organisations must expand across the value chain and offer value propositions that perhaps do not start with the payment, or the transaction.

Montemagno called upon research that found that by 2027, over 50% of all volume in the US will not be processed by banks and acquirers. The payments industry must start thinking outside of the box sooner rather than later. He said: “To achieve scale, everyone needs to cooperate. Not a single player can do this on their own. You’ve all heard the word competition. We believe that this word has never been more relevant. Your competitor today is your partner tomorrow, and vice versa.”

This is where the ecosystem play comes in. A network of independent players collaborating together to power solutions that no organisation single handed would have been able to provide will become the cornerstone to payments acceptance in the future.

4. The power of traditional payments must be combined with digital

The speed of change is also a challenge. Leger explored the fact that technology is developing faster which in turn, allows integration to be seamless. However, as Leger added, it is not only a matter of synergy, “we are now facing a generation of users that are completely digital natives.” For the future, payments companies must be proactive and prepare for an acceleration that the industry has never faced before.

“If you’re not working at the right pace, you’ll never be able to succeed at everything that you’re expecting to,” Leger said.

All these trends were encapsulated in Duforest’s announcement of the launch of the second version of Ingenico’s Terminal as a Service (TaaS), an end-to-end solution developed to manage terminal estates that brings together a comprehensive suite of services covering the entire lifecycle of payment terminals, from installation to end-of-life management.