#9 Mobile Payments 💵

The number of mobile payments users who tap to pay using a contactless payment solution provided by their mobile device’s maker will grow to 450 million people worldwide by 2020.
Between mobile payments (at stores, online etc), peer-to-peer payments (like Venmo) and of course cryptocurrencies, paper money is disappearing rapidly (due to, among other things, inconvenience).
Mobile payments are becoming more popular, but they still face some high barriers, such as consumers’ continued loyalty to traditional payment methods and fragmented acceptance among merchants. But as loyalty programs are integrated and more consumers rely on their mobile wallets for other features like in-app payments, adoption and usage will surge over the next few years.
Because retail payment systems require infrastructure (PoS, card readers, cash registers etc..), it takes time and energy to implement new payment methods and because implementing payment systems isn’t the primary business of barbers, bakeries, and coffee shops it is fair to assume winner take all/most dynamics apply here (because shops won’t want to setup dozens of payment systems). There will be a few accepted payment systems and everything else will fail to get adoption.
Tap-to-pay is easy enough, but today’s users expect evolving, personalized experiences that sync as they shop. They willingly share personal information to foster enhanced experiences with services like Netflix, Amazon, and others. Retailers, meanwhile, are jumping through hoops to discover everything they can about their consumers so they can deepen those relationships.
The endurance of any mobile wallet depends on active users: people who embrace a technology and use it to carry out multiple transactions each day. Not only do they drive transaction volume, they also provide an indication of genuine behavioural change on the part of the consumer.
Will we see a cashless city?
If cities are pushing for a totally cash-free society more shops and transport networks will insist on electronic payments, where does this leave the smallest traders and poorest inhabitants
