A review of payments from the world of ADVAM. What’s hot and what to expect from 2019
Posted 17 January 2019, Australia
The need for better customer experience is driving omnichannel payments
2018 was a year of growth, innovation and a shift in focus from not just how a payment is processed, but how payments can improve the overall customer experience. Customer experience (or CX) is not just a hot topic in marketing, but in parking, ecommerce, self-service and payments.
At ADVAM we’re excited by everything payments, in particular the growing shift to omnichannel payments and the innovative ways that our clients are using our payment platforms to improve the CX of their customers.
In 2018 we introduced ADVAM UnattendedPayments to our first EV (Electronic Vehicle) Charging Client. An exciting opportunity for a vastly growing industry – it is reported that an estimated 40 million EV charging units will be in place globally by 20301.
We have also experienced a change in segments such as shopping centres and related parking operators looking at ways to extend from just providing parking, to parking being a part of the overall CX. Shopping Centres recognise the benefits of using AltitudeReservation, our prebook solution to improve the customers overall shopping experience, especially over peak periods such as Christmas. We are also seeing more Shopping Centres looking to use our integrated ParkCharge platform to manage loyalty, increase time in the shopping centre and ultimately increase revenue. Shopping Centres are shifting their focus to all aspects of the CX to attract people to bricks and mortar and turn it into an enjoyable experience – one that you can’t get online.
This trend continues with our airport and self-service clients. Airports continue to grow and expand on what they’re offering customers and operators; whether it’s managing staff parking, ground transport or frequent parkers, there is a move to integrated platforms that provide a more seamless way to manage payments and the flow of traffic around the airport. For self-service the move away from cash continues, but we are also seeing an increase in ‘in-store’ experiences – using kiosks and UnattendedPayments to improve the customer experience and reduce the burden on store staff.
These examples demonstrate that regardless of industry, we continue to see a rise in digital platforms and omnichannel payment experiences. Companies are looking to offer the easiest way for a customer to pay, whether its removing cash from a traditional unattended experience, enabling payments via digital wallets such as Apple Pay or Google Pay, or providing their own membership/wallet solution to seamlessly process payments via the consumers linked payment card. CX is big news and this continues into 2019.
It’s not been without its challenges
As the use of omnichannel payments rise, so does the risk of fraud for both payments and personal identity. 2018 saw new data privacy regulations introduced, with GDPR being the most stringent. The PCI DSS Council introduced new measures in the way that payments are processed and we undertook the transition to TLS 1.2. Both regulatory updates impacted most of our customers and we’re pleased to confirm that all of our data privacy procedures adhere to the regulations stipulated under GDPR and ADVAM continually updates our systems and processes to make sure we are in line with the latest PCI DSS regulations. This was a great effort by not just the ADVAM compliance team, but all of our customers and partners to navigate the complexity of these changes.
With 2018 just behind us, what does 2019 have in store?
As we go into the new year, security remains top of mind with 3DS 2.0 rolling out in parts of Europe. The focus continues to be on innovation from new markets as well as companies leveraging the power of payments and customer data to maximise the CX. Customer experience, loyalty and the attributed revenue increase continue to be the driving force for many of our customers and the payments industry in general.
Omnichannel payments can increase revenue by as much as 50-300%
Omnichannel payments will become more important and the use of machine learning combined with transactional data to better understand customer behaviour and to improve their overall experience will become more common. As consumers expectations for a personalised experience and their demand to be able to buy when and how they want grows, so does the need for omnichannel payments. By providing omnichannel payments merchants in some segments can expect to see a boost in revenue as omnichannel shoppers spend 50-300% more than single channel shoppers2.
Continual innovation to meet customer expectations
2019 will be another exciting year in payments and as more ways to pay become the expectation for consumers, it will become a necessity for merchants.
ADVAM continues to innovate and look at new ways that we can support our clients to obtain their goals. We are continually focused on adding new features and improvements to our existing solutions, but 2019 will see the launch of new services and features. The exciting new services to go live in 2019 will assist our clients to meet the growing expectations of consumers, offering the latest in payment security and new ways to use the payment platform as a way to enhance CX. We don’t want to disclose too much too soon, but the services will enable clients to provide omnichannel payments, drive loyalty and ultimately the customer experience.
All customers and subscribers of our news updates will be informed as the new services and features come to market. To subscribe to ADVAM updates go to www.advam.com/subscribe-now/
1 GTM Research https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/electric-vehicle-charging-points-40-million-gtm#gs.gYRo2vIS
2 Worldpay, “The store of the future and the role of omnichannel payments in driving business growth”.
