The team at Checkout.com says that 2022 looks set to be a “defining year” for digital payments and commerce, with the “exponential” growth seen in recent years expected to continue.
Checkout.com, which has become the most valuable Fintech after finalizing a massive $1 billion funding round, notes that there are challenges on the horizon, like fraud and managing environmental concerns.
This year is set to be a “watershed moment” for payments and its role within a business, according to Emina Zahirovic, Associate Director, Global Payments at HelloFresh. This is as firms start to really appreciate the key role that payments serve in acquiring and retaining valuable clients.
Emina stated:
“In 2021, we began to see businesses, whose volumes had moved predominantly online, start considering the role of payments within the customer lifecycle. This shift in thinking is leading businesses to consider the different ways they allow consumers to make payments by offering a range of payment methods. It’s also encouraging them to think about how they process payments to ensure conversion leads to revenue.”
As this trend evolves, Emina expects even more businesses to “leverage the wave of new technology emerging in the payments industry.”
She also shared:
“At HelloFresh, we have a large data science team that leverages AI and machine learning to deeply understand our payments data and how it impacts customer behavior. I anticipate that more businesses will start building out similar functions and leveraging similar tools in 2022 to turn payments into a strategic function.”
As noted in the update from Checkout.com, “the continued growth of payments as a strategic function within a business is a notion” echoed by Cyril Chemla, VP, Strategic Accounts at Checkout.com.
And for Cyril, it’s “the growing recognition of the untapped power of payments data that’ll drive this evolution.”
Cyril added:
“Payments data has immense utility for a business. Many merchants we work with recognize this. They’re already pulling payments data into other parts of the business, such as treasury, finance and marketing, to inform business decisions.”
Cyril expects to see more businesses “look at unlocking the potential of their payments data in the coming year.”
But without the “most modern” payment technology, this “can be complex.”
He also noted
“For many businesses working with legacy systems, simply getting access to rich payments data is a major challenge. And it’s a barrier that some will struggle to overcome, unfortunately limiting the impact payments have in their organization.”
But for those able to tap the potential of their payments data, there’s “a tremendous opportunity to be unlocked.”
He also noted that payments isn’t “just a way to collect money from customers anymore.” It’s a catalyst “for innovation, a revenue generator, and a critical foundation for achieving scalable growth.”
Although the overall outlook for 2022 is fairly positive, “hostile threats lurk in the background with the potential to cause significant disruption for businesses.” None more so than “the explosion in fraud that’s anticipated to occur in 2022,” according to Julie Fergerson, CEO at the Merchant Risk Council.
Julie added:
“It’s going to be a tough year as it relates to fraud. The economy is hitting a bumpy patch, and this always leads to an increase in fraud. Fraudsters are also getting more sophisticated and finding novel ways to attack businesses and consumers.”
Julie also noted that ransomware is a particular concern.
She also mentioned:
“When I talk to my peers in law enforcement, this is the one thing we’re all anxious about. There were several high-profile, successful ransomware attempts in 2021. We’re concerned that this is emboldening the criminals, leading to a flurry of these attacks in 2022.”
She further noted:
“Businesses will need to be at the top of their game this year and invest in the best tools possible to make sure they don’t fall victim to fraud.”
As mentioned in the update:
“If 2021 was the year that crypto entered the mainstream, 2022 is when it starts to take hold. This is the view of Bradley Riss, Chief Commercial Officer at Checkout.com, who believes it’s no longer possible to ignore what’s happening in the crypto space.”
Bradley also noted:
“There’s so much movement here. We have the traditional business sector that is increasingly asking how this is relevant to their businesses. This is leading some major names to make significant investments, such as Nike’s recent acquisition of RTFKT and Universal launching Kingship, its first NFT band. Then there’s a new merchant category emerging that’s bridging the gap between web 2.0 and web 3.0 by offering fiat and crypto from day one that will continue to evolve.”
Alongside these developments, Bradley expects to see “positive action around the adoption of stablecoins and CBDCs.”
He added:
“There’s plenty of discussion happening about how these assets can improve the movement of value and capital around the world. Will all these questions be answered in 2022? No. But I expect there to be significant progress that will underpin the direction of travel for the rest of the decade.”