Walk, go through a showcase, see a product, enter the store and talk to the seller seems to be an increasingly distant situation thanks to e-commerce; Today we are just a few clicks away from our favorite products and services. However, the part that generates more insecurity is the process of putting the plastic information on the merchant's website. It is at this stage that users usually feel more insecure due to possible cyber attacks.
A similar situation occurs in transactions in physical stores, due to the risk of the card being cloned. In a world with technological advances like today, in which we are working on biometric recognition and in which cell phones read the track to open banking applications safely, have a plastic and back the transaction with a card to confirm the identity does not make sense.
Both banks and businesses must work together to innovate in payment methods that take advantage of the digital age, in which you can pay by just passing the cell phone by a point or sending a QR code to an app that receives the payment and manages the transaction without identification documents or baucher on paper with a signature.
These solutions sound good in theory but one of the barriers is the distrust of users who feel that their data could be harmed by hackers. For this reason, one of the key bets of banks is the investment in cybersecurity and education to its users so that they learn to navigate safely without leaving their data exposed to avoid theft of information and identity.
Technology advances and fear of consumers does not stop it. The big mobile device firms are working on the development of 'wearables' that go beyond smartwatches. Experts predict that in a few years it will be possible to measure clothes with augmented reality applications and through them pay with biometric verification without using a plastic or ID card, and everything from home.
Amazon Took the First Step
Amazon is a leading company in e-commerce worldwide, which through its initiatives demonstrates that the user experience is the key to attract more customers. Its latest test, which is in beta, is a chain of supermarkets in which people - previously registered on the platform - enter, take what they need and leave.
Your account is charged to devices that count what you carry and at the end they make an automatic debit of the consumption and the user sees your invoice on the cell phone. In this model there is no need to stand in line and pay with paper money. Through this modality there is no cashier or cashier that charges, since everything is done automatically, like a scanner that only identifies the user.
This is the future of payments for many financial experts. Do not go too far: Uber and Cabify, platforms to move, do not need to slide a card; only the user needs to use the service and it is automatically discounted because his data is already entered.
A person takes a car and when getting off it is simply debited from your account with complete peace of mind without loading cash or swiping a card. The future of plastic money is with the years numbered. Each time better alternatives are developed to consume products and services from the mobile without having to load plastic or identification.
Payments go Beyond Plastic
Stanford University interviewed hundreds of banks to identify their focus on innovations in the field of mobile applications and mobile wallet / payment options (including P2P electronic bank transfers, that is, from user to user, through WhatsApp or similar technologies ) , in addition to improving the user experience in its Internet Banking channel (such as the ease of electronic check deposits). Some of the solutions proposed by banks are:
Applications for Smart TV
Social networks for banking transactions
Make advance payments through ATMs
Strategic alliances with startups and other companies to improve UX
Segmented database and intelligent mailing
Biometrics, to avoid complicated passwords
Definitely the plastic as transactional means will disappear , but the banks still have enormous challenges in cybersecurity to arrive at solutions like the one of Amazon that allow the user to buy with total freedom without worrying about the payment.