5 payment technology trends to watch in 2023

Experts are predicting that this desire will continue to impact payments in 2023. As you look ahead this year, consider these five payment technology trends that could impact your small business—and how you can prepare your business to capitalize on these opportunities.

1. Digital wallets go mainstream

Digital wallets are virtual versions of physical wallets. Digital wallets store payments such as credit and debit cards, bank account information, and even gift cards in an app or browser that can easily be accessed to make a payment. For example, Google released a revised version of Google Wallet in July, 2022. 

Google Wallet is just one option; Apple Pay is another popular option. And, they’re becoming popular with consumers. In a 2022 survey, a whopping 75% of participants reported using a digital wallet in the past year, and 60% said they were comfortable leaving home without a wallet–carrying only their phone. Soon, more consumers will expect to be able to leave their physical wallet at home—and still buy what they need using their digital wallet. 

2. Buy now, pay later is here to stay

Buy now, pay later (BNPL) is one of the fastest growing trends in payment technology. By one estimate, one out of three American shoppers used some form of BNPL program in 2022. Merchants should prepare now to meet the increased demand for BNPL, both online and in-store. 

There are many services that can help you offer this feature to your customers. One option is to use Pay Later powered by Bread Pay, a pay-over-time technology solution that enables your customers to make purchases with flexible and easy-to-understand payments. Offering this service can increase sales, improve customer satisfaction by letting people pay the way they want, and require little technical expertise from merchants. Learn more in our guide: Buy Now Pay Later: Why merchants need it. 

3. P2P goes P2B

You may have heard of peer to peer (P2P) payment options like PayPal and Venmo that make it easy to send money to your friends and family. Many consumers use P2P payments to make quick transactions, like when splitting a check at a restaurant. 

These apps can now be used by businesses to accept payment from their customers, opening a whole new market of users you could be tapping into. According to eMarketer, Zelle, Venmo, and the Cash app are estimated to have a combined 165.7 million users as of 2021. 

How can you accept P2P payments at your business? We’re excited to work with PayPal and Venmo to give merchants a way to accept payments via QR code directly from your Clover devices. Customers simply scan QR code, confirm the payment total, and receive confirmation that the payment was a success. Adding this new way to pay could be a small change that nets a big competitive advantage for your company. 

4. “Siri, pay my bill”

That’s right: voice payments are one of the latest ways to pay. Stemming from the demand for contactless payments, Google, Apple, and Amazon are all developing technology that will enable voice assistants to pay for things. Google offers one of the most common voice activated payment options. It integrates Google Pay with Google Assistant, with a simple command prompting the app to set up a transfer for review and confirmation. 

Voice payments are on the rise in the US. Most voice payments are limited to minor eCommerce transactions, but as machine learning becomes more advanced, experts predict that voice assistants will be used to complete more expensive, complicated transactions. For now: it’s worth making sure your business can handle contactless and online payments. 

5. Everyone loves virtual gift cards 

Gift cards are going omnichannel, to the delight of both customers and merchants alike. In 2023, customers now regularly expect that a gift card purchased in-store will be honored online and vice versa. And, for most merchants, there’s virtually no downside to offering a virtual gift card. 

Virtual gift cards often have the immediate benefit of reducing fraud and boosting sales, not to mention the other advantages that traditional plastic gift cards can offer. Gift cards help match unique inventory with those customers who want them. They help increase foot traffic and bring in new customers as well as offer a way to reward loyal customers. And, by offering virtual gift cards, merchants can provide a seamless shopping experience. 

These are just a few of the trends that are shaping up to disrupt the payment experience in 2023. As we look ahead this year, we expect customers will continue to shop at retailers, restaurants, and service providers who can offer convenient, flexible ways to pay—including contactless payments, QR codes, and all the traditional payment options.

To learn about all of the ways you can accept payments with a Clover POS system, contact a Business Consultant today.

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