The future of online payments: What to expect?

Retail's entry into a highly digital age has brought with it countless payment-related challenges, but at a time when many businesses are struggling to integrate digital transactional solutions into their online shops, new technologies are already lurking around the corner that will raise the tone of the challenge.

What What are these new payment methods and how will they impact the future of online payments? The answer has many variables, but we'll show you all of them over the next few lines.

From security to convenience: what consumers value most

One of the main vertices of the e-commerce solutions is security. Without guarantee that customer payment data is secure and will not be shared or used for fraudulent activitiesThere is no online business that can resist, as trust is the mother of loyalty.

In addition to the additional layers of protection offered by the main payment method operators in Portugal, the Portuguese and European authorities are particularly attentive to this area.

In this particular requirement, in which REDUNIQ is a pioneer, the State and the European Union have decided to take this prerogative into their own hands, developing the so-called "PSD2 directive (Payment Services Directive 2)", which brought us double authentication/strong authenticationwhich, in practice, means that customers have to incorporate two elements of identification into their online payments.

This directive led to the creation of a single payments market that reduces costs and strengthens consumer rightsespecially when it comes to fraudulent e-commerce transactions.

Security, however, is only part of what consumers value most when shopping online.

A convenienceThis, which unfolds in multiple ways, is essential. From the way the site is navigated to its compatibility with mobile devices (the majority of consumers buy online from their smartphones), and of course from the payment methods all of this contributes to making the shopping experience more satisfying, faster and more efficient.

In this area, of the payments most used by the PortugueseThe statistics tell us that card payments (debit and credit), MB WAY and digital wallets are taking the lead over other means, especially due to the higher number of payments. convenience, speed and security.

The new technologies that are transforming the future of digital payments

The current world of digital payments is based above all on three trends/technologies: biometrics, cryptocurrencies and instant payments.

Let's take a closer look at them:

Biometric payments

In addition to its use in accreditation and identity verification, the biometrics has also reached paymentsThis allows fingerprints or facial recognition to be used to authenticate transactions.

Cryptocurrency and Blockchain payments

Although there are still no regulations in Portugal for the cryptocurrency paymentsThis prevents them from being included in online and physical payment methods. growing enthusiasm for cryptoassets and blockchain technologyThe new technology, which guarantees their security, has opened up new avenues for the development of new transactional solutions.

Instant Payments

Payment technologies such as MB WAY have been gaining ground in the world of online transactions, especially since the large Brazilian market decided to create the PIX instant payment solution, and that recently arrived in Portugal through REDUNIQ.

Trends in Online Payments: BNPL, Digital Wallets and Apps

More than 400 million customers worldwide (with estimates pointing to sustained growth until 2030) make the BNPL (Buy Now, Pay Later) one of the biggest trends of the moment when it comes to smartphone or card payments.

As part of the movement to make the purchasing journey more flexible and personalised, the BNPL allows its customers to pay for their purchases in interest-free instalments at their payment terminal or online payment solutionthrough solutions such as Instalment plan with UNICREThis will result in a higher average ticket, an increase in higher value sales and the strengthening of trust with your customers.

Another of trends in online payments are digital wallets and app-based payments, such as MB WAY. In the panorama of Portuguese E-Commerce, according to the data from the CTT E-Commerce 2024 reportMB WAY is the payment method most used by the Portuguese for online purchases, with a market share of 47.4%.

As far as digital wallets are concerned, although they have not yet reached the depth of the MB WAY market, they have seen sustained growth, which has led to, for example, the Google Pay will have gone from a share of 4.5% in 2023 to 6.8% in 2024 and Apple Pay will remain at 3.6%..

How can you prepare your online shop for the future of payments?

A payment integration to help you prepare your online shop for the future must include the introduction of payment methods that are not only in line with your customers' habits and needs, but also offer them speed, convenience and security.

In addition, it is important that the methods to be introduced guarantee you the opportunity to accommodate future innovations and, above all, stimulate your turnover.

In this sense, the REDUNIQ offers you two different solutionsbut adapted to the current paradigm in online payments: the Pay by Link and E-Commerce payment gateway.

Aimed at who sells online without a websitePay by Link allows you to make payments remotely via a link. accept transactions from anywhere and at any time of day by sending a payment link to your customers via SMS, e-mail or WhatsApp.

Once the customer has made a purchase on your marketplace, for example, you will send them a link with the amount to be paid via a customisable link in 5 languages. When your customer receives the link, all they have to do is pay using cards from the main international brands, Apple Pay, Google Pay, MB WAY, PIX or Multibanco references - all without the need for integration or membership costs.

In turn, the E-Commerce payment solution has been designed to meet the needs of professional online shops, guaranteeing you the opportunity to increase the conversion rate and reduce cart abandonment by offering a fast and intuitive payment process.

So with this solution that can integrate with more than 300 e-commerce pluginsyou can start accept payments with national and international cards, MB WAY, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PIX and also offer its customers the global BNPL trend through the Parcela Já solution with UNICRE, which will give them the opportunity to make interest-free payments in instalments of between two and six for the purchases they make in its online shop.

From security to convenience, including the adoption of new technologies such as biometrics, digital wallets, instant payments and BNPL, the he success of any online shop will depend on its ability to keep up with consumer preferences and integrate solutions that boost the trust and efficiency of transactions.. Preparing for these changes today will ultimately guarantee competitiveness and growth in the future of payments.