How Payment Technologies Are Shaping the E-Commerce Boom

Payment technologies sound kind of boring, until you realize that advances in this area are leading to billions of dollars of new revenue being generated across industries. 

In the past, both retail and commercial customers had only a handful of ways to pay for products and services. And all of these were slow and involved processes, making it a hassle to hand money over to others.

But today, there is far less friction between customers, their money, and the companies they wish to patronize. It’s never been so easy to send money or submit a payment.

And when things are easier, they can happen much faster and much more frequently. And these aren’t just e-commerce trends either. Both physical and online stores are enjoying the revenue boost, too.

Keep reading to learn exactly what advancements are revolutionizing how we do business today. 

Easier Online Payments

When it comes to e-commerce, various payment platforms are making it easier than ever for customers to make a purchase. Often, it only takes one or two clicks to release funds to the online store they are buying from.

This is thanks to major e-commerce platforms integrating with companies like Paypal, Square, and Amazon. If a customer has an account with one of these payment options, they can quickly log in and utilize their saved payment info.

For example, almost everyone has an account with Amazon. And they likely have their credit card information saved to their account.

If an online store integrates Amazon Pay, then when a customer checks out on this new website, they won’t have to get up and go find their credit card. They won’t have to take the time to type in their credit card information, which many people loathe doing.

All they have to do is enter their Amazon password through the secure login portal, and they can release payment from their saved credit card.

Using Paypal is virtually the same. These processes lower friction, since friction is what causes many customers to leave a website before completing checkout.

Apply Pay and Android Pay are also being used in this regard since many people use these options on their mobile phones every day as well.

Streamlining the Checkout Process

Many online businesses have also invested heavily into making their checkout process as seamless as possible. This includes the utilization of one-page checkout windows, along with last-minute discounts.

And since many people input their email address before abandoning their cart, they’ll likely get automated emails reminding users about their cart, along with a discount code to convert the customer once and for all. 

Changing How Business Has Always Been Done

Think of an industry that’s been around for many decades in the US. Take the automobile industry, for example. More specifically, let’s talk about auto shops.

For many, many years, auto shops have functioned virtually the same across the country. Customers show up to dirty, disorganized auto shops, tell the mechanic what’s wrong, and then leave for a few hours.

Later on, the customer finally gets a call with an astronomical quote. And the worst part, the shop can’t even get to the repairs until next week. Talk about a waste of time.

When the work is finally completed, they encourage you to pay with cash or check, so they can save a few dollars in fees. All in all, it’s a high-friction process. 

And when this happens, you can bet these customers will look for a new auto shop next time they need repairs, to avoid the hassle of the previous one.

The only problem? Most shops are run this way. That is, until now.

A Better All-Encompassing Payment Solution

Finally, there is an all-in-one payment processing system and shop management tool that can change how the entire shop is run. 

Not only can customers schedule appointments with ease online, so they save time, but they’ll receive detailed, accurate quotes right to their email, thanks to this new type of system. And when they do, customers can even pay online, right from their invoice, reducing friction in the store.

And the system will even send automated appointment reminders so that auto shops aren’t stuck with as many no-shows and lost business.

Basically, upgraded payment systems, such as those that can be found at https://www.tekmetric.com/features/for-owners, benefit both the business and the customer. 

Crypto Payment Technologies

You’ve heard of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, right? But did you know there are thousands of different cryptocurrencies currently, with a total market worth billions of dollars?

Cryptocurrency is huge and is growing rapidly. They are being adopted at rapid rates in the retail space, business to the business sector, and even on national levels, as can be seen with El Salvador’s recent adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender in the country. 

There are many benefits to using cryptocurrencies, both as an individual and as a business. 

Benefits of Cryptocurrencies 

One of the main benefits of cryptocurrencies is that they are decentralized. That means there is no country that backs or regulates individual cryptocurrencies. They are borderless currencies that can be traded with anyone in the world, without an expensive intermediary like a bank.

This opens up international markets like never before, as both customers and businesses can save a lot of money on fees. 

On top of that, crypto payments are also much more secure than using credit cards. Credit cards require customers to expose so much personal information. But using cryptocurrencies simply requires a user’s public wallet address. 

And since transactions are recorded on the blockchain, fraud is much more difficult, if not impossible. 

Cryptocurrency as payment, either online or offline, is still in its infancy. However, more and more businesses, large and small, are opening up their POS to accepting crypto payments.

And as user adoption grows, we can see the demand for crypto payments grow astronomically. 

The Evolution of Payment Technologies

We are seeing a ton of innovation in the area of payment technologies. And since lots of companies are making big money in this area, it’s likely we’ll see continued evolution in this space as competition gets stronger and stronger to become the payment provider of choice. 

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