Confronting the new frontier of Digital Payments

While digital payments are quickly transforming the way consumers pay, it’s clear that both paper and plastic payment methods are far from dead.
There’s no question that digital payments have built a strong foundation — standardized technology is optimizing transactions, tokenization is keeping data secure and consumers are more aware than ever of payments innovation.
But it’s still not enough.
The 2016 North America Consumer Digital Payments Survey from Accenture, which analyzed the responses of 4,000 North American consumers, revealed that, while digital payments bring a lot to the table, consumers are expecting more.
What’s continuing to drive consumer choice when it comes to digital payments is personalization and how value is delivered, Swee-May Ngeow, managing director at Accenture, explained.
When everything typically works the way it should — cash counts, cards swipe, chips ensure and taps pay — consumer experience becomes critical to winning consumer preference.
Accenture’s data shows that, in order for digital payments to become the go-to for consumers, providers must master value delivery.
“With all of the digital payments, the new methods of payments and the innovation that’s happening, adoption still has to overcome consumers’ habits,” Ngeow pointed out.
“Cash and plastic are still the habit and what people know, so to overcome that, providers have to offer additional value into the customer experience, both before and after the transaction itself.”