5 minute read
5 key trends set to impact commerce and payments in 2023
Tuesday, January 10, 2023
5 minute read
Recent economic, social and technological disruptions have created exciting new business opportunities. Opportunities to expand into new channels, reach more customers and grow your business.
Here, we summarize the top five trends that will affect consumers and businesses in the year ahead. Get all the insights in our 2023 Commerce and Payment Trends Report.
Trend 1
Social and live commerce make buying easy
Social commerce allows customers to make a purchase immediately and seamlessly within social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and TikTok. Live commerce lets customers buy a product they see on screen during live-streaming events.
52%
of businesses plan to sell directly on social networks in 2023.1
In 2023, we expect social and live commerce to accelerate. Learn more about these channels–and how it all works–in our trends report.
Trend 2
Blockchain, real-time payments and open banking take center stage
Physical, digital and virtual worlds are merging. And technology is expanding to meet evolving customer expectations–across all channels. In 2023, we'll see increased innovation and adoption of blockchain, real-time payments and open banking to meet this demand.
- Blockchain: New use cases for blockchain are coming into focus. This decentralized, distributed ledger enables faster payments, powers digital currencies and facilitates peer-to-peer (P2P) payments.
- Real-time payments: New technology, regulatory pressure and customer expectations are fueling the growth of real-time payments. Compared to traditional processing, real-time payments are faster–for consumers and businesses.
- Open banking: Open banking allows third parties direct access to consumers' banking accounts and financial data upon consent from the consumer. This access creates more opportunities for financial innovation.
Read more about these expanding technologies in our 2023 Commerce and Payment Trends Report.
Trend 3
Digital currency adoption for emerging uses comes into focus
Digital currencies are coming into focus even as the market ebbs and flows for emerging use cases.
Recently, cryptocurrency has been experiencing market volatility, bad actors and scrutiny by regulators, investors and consumers. As a result, we don't expect cryptocurrency to be accepted as a payment type at the point of sale anytime soon. Trust in digital currency systems by all stakeholders, including financial institutions, businesses and governments, will have to be restored before widespread adoption will occur.
Meanwhile, new use cases for digital currency–including central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and stablecoins–continue to emerge. They have found their footing because of how they meet consumer demand and solve current pain points. These include cross-border payments and remittances, loyalty and rewards and digital wallet integration. These use cases will also need to garner the trust of stakeholders for mainstream adoption to take hold.
Read more about the adoption of digital currencies in our 2023 Commerce and Payment Trends Report.
Trend 4
Biometric authentication unlocks new opportunities
Consumers already use their finger, face or iris to unlock their smartphones or speed through airport security. That's biometrics in action. And now, consumers can use biometrics to authenticate payment transactions. Companies are building solutions to authenticate payments using several unique biometric markers. This trend is gaining traction, and we expect wider adoption in 2023.
"People want faster payments or don't want to think about payments at all anymore—biometrics is a really easy way for us to do that."
70%
of consumers believe biometrics are easy, 46% think they are more secure than passwords or PINs.2
Read more about biometrics in our 2023 Commerce and Payment Trends Report.
Trend 5
Dawn of the metaverse
A growing phenomenon, the metaverse offers businesses new opportunities. Early adopters are creating immersive experiences that will deepen their relationships with consumers. The metaverse also creates a new channel for commerce. We expect two models to drive commerce initially:
- Direct-to-avatar (D2A) commerce: When you enter the metaverse, you create an avatar–a virtual you. Businesses can then sell virtual products like clothing to your avatar.
- Virtual-to-physical commerce: Consumers can buy products while in the metaverse, then exchange them for physical products in the real world.
Just as they move effortlessly from the physical to the virtual worlds and back again, consumers will expect a seamless, integrated payment experience. Think of it as an extension of card-not-present commerce.
“The metaverse is part of omnichannel commerce. It's just another channel, and we do payments across all channels.”
Vince Lombardo
President, US Merchant Solutions,
Global Payments
We help you navigate the metaverse in our 2023 Commerce and Payment Trends Report.
Be ready in 2023
Are you ready to expand into new channels, reach more customers and grow your business? With expert guidance from interviews with top industry experts, data from businesses and issuers worldwide and our extensive secondary research—we bring you the insights you need to succeed in 2023—and beyond.
- The global survey mentioned in this article was conducted online between July 12, 2022, and August 12, 2022.
- Visa study, September 12-19, 2017. Consumers ready to switch from passwords to biometrics, study shows.
