3 Forces Driving the Biggest Payment Trends for 2022

By April Grudier,
Vice President of Marketing and Partner Strategy, BlueSnap

In the past two years, we have seen an unprecedented adoption of digital payments across all industries. For many businesses, 2020 brought about an acceleration that analysts didn’t expect for another seven years, according to McKinsey. And that digital transformation journey is still going strong.

Now, in 2022, leaders are continuing to fine-tune the changes they’ve put in place and are beginning to look at digital payments more strategically to drive business impact and the bottom line rather than only playing a supporting role. We are seeing businesses focus on three major goals that are driving these trends:

• Driving business growth
• Elevating the customer experience
• Optimizing payments for the best ROI possible

Driving Business Growth
We’ll see more businesses moving into the global marketplace. With digital payments, companies can sell to customers worldwide, and the right payments partner can make international payments simple and efficient. By 2027, the value of all cross-border payments is projected to be $250 trillion, so now is the time to be sure your payment solution will help you make the most of the global marketplace.

This growth in international sales will require businesses to examine their approach to cross-border payments and positioning them to help increase sales and reduce costs. In 2022, organizations will focus on employing payment optimization tools to drive higher conversions with the customers they attract. Tools like intelligent payment routing and failover technology help increase authorizations and allow companies to take full advantage of their investment in digital payments.

As businesses see that payments can contribute to the bottom line, an increasing number of software platforms will also look to how they can increase their revenue through payments. In 2022, embedded payments and payfac-as-a-service will grow in popularity as software platforms see the benefits of monetizing payments. According to research from J.P. Morgan, software companies that embed payments into their platforms see a 2- to 5-time increase in revenue per customer. And with the right payments partner, platforms can begin to reap these rewards fairly quickly.

Elevating the Customer Experience
We all know that exceptional customer experience can drastically improve revenue, but too often, the checkout experience is an overlooked piece of the puzzle.

According to 451 Research, $20.1 billion in purchases were abandoned last year because customers were unable to use their preferred payment methods. And 20% of shoppers abandon at checkout if it is not in their language.

Customers are demanding a checkout that feels made and localized for them. This is increasingly important for those businesses expanding into the global market to drive their growth. Businesses will provide more payment options and localize each customer’s payment experience. Whether accommodating cashless customers with alternative payment methods or offering more flexible payment options, like Buy Now, Pay Later, efforts to cater to customers’ payment desires will ultimately mean more sales and revenue for your business.

Optimizing Payments for the Best ROI
The quick shift to digital payments was the result of the pandemic for many businesses. This year, you can expect to see businesses moving away from the patchwork solutions they initially put in place to more cost-effective, strategic payment solutions that provide positive ROI. Businesses will move full steam ahead to optimize their authorization rates, consolidate vendors and reduce their technical debt.

In addition to consolidating vendors, businesses will also look to key payment KPIs to make sure their payments are working for them. In 2022, companies need to gain an awareness of their authorization rates and optimize them to see a full return on their payment investment.

For example, businesses selling internationally will need to be thoughtful about the back-end of their payments. When it comes to global payment authorizations, the more you can match, the easier it is for banks to approve transactions. Work with a payment processor that has the intelligence to help you match the customer country with the processing country, match the issuing bank with the acquiring bank and match the issuing currency to the acquiring currency – all of this contributes to up to a 12% increase in sales, based on our own data.

As we can see from these trends, 2022 is already shaping up to be an exciting year for digital payments. The best way for businesses to get the most out of these trends is to have a payments partner with the full range of functionality to be able to benefit from all of them.

Related Resources

• What Your Payment Processing Statements Are Trying to Tell You
• Cross-Border Authorization Rates: The Key to Increased Revenue
• Quiz: Time for a New Payment Processor?

About April Grudier
April Grudier is Vice President of Marketing and Partner Strategy at BlueSnap.

She is a frequent contributor to blogs, webinars, and articles on trends in payments. April has over 20 years of marketing and brand experience, including as the VP of Marketing at TSYS Merchant Solutions, focused on branding, advertising and partner efforts. She has also held marketing leadership roles at Staples and BJ’s Wholesale Club.