Changes in buying habits and consumer needs are increasingly evident and, at the same time, do not stop evolving. Given the incredible speed of this change, payment methods will have to adapt to all this innovation, but what changes will surprise us in 2023?

Shopping habits have changed more than ever in recent years, whether due to consumer behavior or the need to adapt to an uncertain future and the social health situation that does not stop changing.

Therefore, companies must be ready to respond to consumers who are looking for an easy, fast and personalized shopping experience. At Sipay, we want to help businesses stay abreast of changes by keeping them informed of some of the trends we will be seeing in the coming months.

Face and voice payments

A few years ago we saw the option of unlocking the phone with just our face as unthinkable but today it is a common practice that users engage in in their daily lives.

The advent of biometrics, which greatly facilitates the performance of various tasks, is also present in payments, as Apple Pay or Google Pay allow users to authenticate themselves via facial recognition to make purchases.

Similarly, in recent months we’ve seen how some supermarkets and businesses, especially in the United States, have started allowing payments via facial recognition, so hopefully this will soon become a common practice in other countries.

The other major advance we’ve seen lies in the massive revolution of virtual assistants like Alexa or Siri, which are already being used to make transfers between people or pay by card. According to a study by Business Insider Intelligence, 8% of American adults have used some form of voting payment.

Therefore, sooner or later, consumers will often use the phrases “I want to buy this product” or “I will pay with Google”. The latter company has developed a hands-free payment program, which allows users to pay by saying these words. Establishment staff need only ask for the consumer’s initials and verify their identity through a photo that the consumer must add to the program. In this way, the payment amount will be automatically debited from the customer’s account.

All of this means progress for the business, not only in the area of ​​modernization, but also in the area of ​​simplicity.

Elimination of payments

Undoubtedly, one of the most tedious aspects for users is the checkout process, both in physical stores and online. The first, because you generally have to wait in long queues to buy goods, and the second, because you have to enter large amounts of data and do additional verification processes that slow down the process.

In the UK, for example, there are already supermarkets that record through surveillance cameras all the items consumers buy and charge a set amount when they leave the store. All this is possible due to the previous registration of customer card data. Tokenization will play an important role in seeing this initiative regularly in the future.

On the other hand, and following this trend, for example, the transportation company Uber has started charging its customers online, allowing users to book trips and have their bank account automatically charged at the end of the trip.

Being able to manage purchases without having to go through the checkout process will undoubtedly be a haven for all sellers, as it will not only provide consumers with faster speeds, but will also greatly reduce their pain of paying.

Payouts on metaverse

Initially, the metaverse was defined as an environment for playing virtually against other players or against the machine itself. What initially appeared as a virtual world for entertainment, over the months developed into a parallel world consisting of avatars that can be customized, for example, with items of clothing.

The huge evolution of this technology has led companies to want to be a part of this project, replicating their current business model in a virtual shop window. Therefore, the metaverse is gradually becoming a metamarket where businesses can sell their products.

In short, there is no doubt that in order to meet and meet these new demands, forms of payment must be developed which guarantee a secure environment and, in a short time, will form the basis of the payment sector system.

At Sipay, a payment service provider, we are committed to technology as an engine of innovation and are constantly evolving so that payments are a way to build a secure environment in line with new trends and regulations, as well as creating unique experiences according to consumer needs.