Last week, I attended one of the payment industry’s premier annual events, Money20/20 in Las Vegas. I enjoyed seeing my Javelin Strategy & Research colleagues, meeting new friends, and learning more about the hottest trends and newest innovations in the world of payments, fintech, and financial services.
Anyone who has ever attended Money20/20 is likely familiar with the extreme level of energy and passion when thousands of payments “geeks,” enthusiasts, skeptics, and innovators congregate. Some were less optimistic about making any significant changes, whereas others were more confident about revolutionizing the payments system. The vibes were mixed across different payment vendors and attendees.
Let’s delve into the biggest takeaways from the event.
Payments
Some see the payments ecosystem through a status quo lens: “That’s just how payments have always been, and we do not see them changing much in the U.S.” I spoke to a vendor that offers a solution to help small merchants optimize their payment processing. The solution requires a small merchant to inform its acquirer that it wants to use this third-party vendor’s service. However, according to the vendor, acquirers tend to push back on these efforts, and the small merchants usually back off, too. Some small businesses tend to blindly trust their acquirers to make the best payment processing decisions on their behalf, sometimes to their detriment. If I could offer small merchants some advice, I’d suggest that they be open to exploring and considering solutions beyond their acquiring partner’s services. It would help ensure they are using the best payment processing option for their business and enhance their general payment knowledge and awareness.
Another payment vendor had a different perspective of the U.S. payments landscape. It agreed that payments usually follow a general trend but insisted that its pay-by-bank solution would disrupt the payments ecosystem. Will pay-by-bank drastically change consumers’ card-centric behavior? Gen Z has veered away from credit cards, but those consumers’ behavior may change as they mature and take on bigger expenses. Will Gen Z be the generation to significantly transform U.S. payment preferences in the U.S.? We will see what future Money20/20 events have to say about the maturing population.
Fintech
Money20/20’s first-ever startup network highlighted seven fintech startups. These companies were selected based on their abilities to revolutionize money movement and their potential to extend beyond finance:
- Ansa: It is lowering swipe fees while increasing transaction value for merchants through its “wallet-as-a-service” platform.
- Hypercard: The first consumer credit card powered by employers to provide instant expense management, access to benefits, and high perk adoption.[ET1]
- Kamino: Centralizing banking and corporate credit cards for small and mid-size businesses, particularly in Latin America.
- Skipify: Building a more open digital wallet to connect merchants, shoppers, and financial institutions.
- Themis: Improving compliance and risk management tools for banks and fintechs.
- TodayPay: Revolutionizing the way customers can receive refunds on their purchases.
- TripleBlind: Enabling artificial intelligence with an unrivaled level of data privacy and security.
Financial Services
“Lifestyle banking” was another key Money20/20 theme. Lifestyle banking encompasses customized customer experiences, data-driven cross-sales, personalized customer service, gamification, improved loyalty programs, and a “one-stop” platform goal. It is critical for financial services providers to prioritize these important initiatives to stay relevant in a payments ecosystem that is constantly evolving and innovating. Some innovative and timely financial services product offerings include instant digital account opening, real-time payment opportunities, instant gratification rewards, real-time money management, EMI payments/BNPL/instant micro-loans, built-in e-commerce and entertainment applications, and financial decision assistance.
Money20/20 provided an excellent opportunity to preview what’s next for payments, fintechs, and financial services. I’m excited to see the new developments, innovation, and products that 2024 will bring!
