Envision the future: 5 innovative payment tech trends

Imagine a future where spending cash will seem as obsolete as using a manual typewriter, a cassette player or even a VCR.

With Asia Pacific’s smartphone adoption expected to hit three billion units by 2020, it is evident that consumers are embracing this increasingly connected world.  Even today, the way we interact is changing rapidly. Digital solutions, such as digital wallets, are becoming more accessible to consumers.  It is clear that the payments industry is on the cusp of an exciting new era.

At the MasterCard Innovation Forum this year, we caught a glimpse of these payment innovations. Out of all these innovations, here are the five payment trends which we think will revolutionize the future of payments.

Commerce on-the-go

Mobile point-of-sale, or mPOS, is a portable dongle which transforms any connected device into a commerce device.  Cost-effective and easy to implement, mPOS enables traditionally cash-based micro and small businesses to offer electronic payment options to their customers. This nifty piece of tech is quickly catching on amongst consumers in Singapore, Vietnam and across Asia Pacific.

Smart connected cars

The latest technology being developed for cars includes driverless technology, pre-collision sensors and road safety vehicle-to-vehicle communications. We’ve seen the electronic road pricing (ERP) system revolutionize toll payments in Singapore through the use of in-vehicle devices. In the future, commerce systems in cars will allow drivers to select and purchase drive-through food, petrol, and other services without ever stepping out of the car.

Frictionless security

Security is paramount in today’s increasingly digital world.  Yet it would be great to remove the frustration of remembering all your passwords, or of getting locked out of your own account for failed login attempts. With heartbeat payments and facial recognition technology on trial in the Netherlands  and in the U.S., authenticating payments with our face, fingerprint and heartbeat will soon become an everyday reality. Such use of technology and data moves away from relying on what the consumers know (passwords), to what they have (mobile smart devices) and who they are (biometrics) while raising the bar on security.

No boundary in-store experiences

Not a fan of queuing? Imagine going shopping where you want to, when you want to. By simply installing Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chips or QR codes for each item, consumers can simply scan and purchase the item via their mobile phones. Tesco Homeplus took this idea to the next level by bringing the store to their customers in Korea subway stations and their sales increased 130 per cent in three months!

Being human

Do you find yourself forgetting your wallet at times or even misplacing it? In the future, you will be able to authenticate yourself to your environment without a wallet.  Through simple gestures and verbal instructions, you will be able to conduct any type of commerce transaction.  It uses our natural human ways of communicating. No swipe, tap, or click required.