Contactless payments

The year — and the coronavirus pandemic — caused a dramatic shift in attitude. Many consumers and merchants now saw contactless cards and mobile payments as a way to move ahead without the germ fears that come with touching cash and PIN pads. And even after those fears subsided, the new habits stuck around.

The pandemic may have served as a catalyst for rapid growth in contactless payments through wearable devices. It’s the combination of form and function, however, that will push wearable payments into further growth in 2021 and beyond, says Zeta's Bhavin Turakhia.

Many companies had to pivot sharply in just a month or two. Others were rewarded richly for their earlier investments in digital technology.

Moving into 2021, curbside will continue to be a significant element of the retail experience as customers grow to prefer the convenience. Getting a head start on streamlining checkout now will set your company up for success in the next digital decade, says Mobiquity's Brittany Mills.

Tokenization, click to pay and other advancements boost efficiency and safety, says the Electronic Payments Coalition's Jeff Tassey.

Payment technology developer MyPINPAD has upgraded its point-of-sale app to allow merchants to accept and authorize contactless payments through a consumer mobile device — and to potentially provide a less expensive option for PIN transactions for smaller merchants.

As a way to help small businesses maintain COVID-19 social distancing measures, Judopay is using a longer-range QR code that removes the need for any interaction at a point of sale device.

The COVID-19 pandemic has radically changed consumers’ attitudes and behaviors toward money and payments. What has changed?

Whenever a technology moves into the payments or financial data ecosystem, it alerts fraudsters to probe it more intensely — and ultimately, figure out a way to use it as an attack vector.

In 2017 the creators adapted the technology into a touchless restaurant order-and-pay system that’s seen exponential demand during the pandemic, as dining establishments race to replace paper menus and card payment devices with contactless alternatives.