Both consumers and merchants have proved they’re eager for change in financial services, but what we’ve seen since PSD2 is just the beginning. We look beyond the opening up of APIs to see what sort of next-generation payments will satisfy demand as innovation in open banking gains pace.

Consumer habits and expectations continue to change when it comes to online payments. Reacting to this is critical for businesses, and that begins by offering more digital payment methods.

The pandemic has driven consumers away from stores and businesses for the majority of the past 15 months. When we go back to normal, will the role of cash change?

The economic impact of the pandemic has hit many American consumers and businesses hard, and some of those worst affected are the unbanked and their communities. Addressing the issues of financial inclusion must be a priority in the post-COVID-19 recovery.

It has been an unexpected year in so many ways, not least how people have had to rethink how they spend money and interact with businesses. COVID-19 changed our industry in ways we could not have imagined it would in 2020, and will continue to be an influence on payment trends for many months to come. With that in mind, here are four trends we expect to carry over from 2020 and play a big role in shaping the online payments in the next 12 months.

As we discovered when we asked consumers[1], COVID-19 and the social distancing measures many countries have put into place to combat the virus has impacted the when, where, and importantly how they are spending money. The shift to eCommerce is one clear and potentially unsurprising consequence; many people (42%) are shopping online more frequently and a significant percentage (18%) of consumers have shopped online for the first time since the COVID-19 outbreak, and this is in turn is affecting the payments methods they use. But there are other reasons habits are changing.

There is no doubt that regional payment preferences are a globally identifiable trend that, if anything, is becoming more pronounced as the payment industry evolves. And for both businesses with a physical presence and those that are online only, recognising this trend and developing a checkout strategy that aligns with the payment preferences of target consumers is imperative.

Online businesses are focused on retaining the 18% of consumers that have spent money for the first time during COVID-19. Addressing these customers’ concerns with online card payments by offering alternatives is vital.

Almost 50% of Generation Z (Gen Z) consumers, aged 16-24, now shop more on mobile than on any other device, making them the leading adopters of mCommerce. With that trend expected to grow, how can businesses better respond to their shopping needs?

There is still a significant role for cash in the payments ecosystem, but with consumers increasingly relying on eCommerce in the wake of COVID-19, will their relationship with cash change? And if so, how?

As the world continues to adjust to a temporary ‘new normal’, the social impact of COVID-19 is beginning to have a significant effect on everyday behaviour, most notably in countries where governments have imposed the most severe social distancing measures. Approximately a quarter of the global population was being limited in its activity in some way when India Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that there would be a restriction of movement in the country for 21 days. This percentage may even increase in the coming weeks.

Credit cards may be over a century old — the first ‘credit cards’, which customers could use to buy on credit from shops on an approved list, were issued by the Provident Clothing Company in 1880 — but they’re still massively popular.

The ability to shop online and pay in cash at a tobacconist is attracting new customers and additional sales