Bill Payment Trends in 2021

ALTHOUGH consumers continue to rely on cash, innovation and protocols relating to Covid-19 are leading many into the digital payments space.

This is according to Andrew Hardie, Chief Executive Officer at Pay@ – an integrated payment platform.

ALSO READ: Final shot for firearm amnesty

Harding says as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the demand for contactless payment solutions is increasing.
‘In fact, the Global Payments Report for 2020 published by McKinsey & Co. found that the digital payments sector experienced half a decade’s worth of growth and development in just a few months,’ said Hardie.

Bill Payment Trends in 2021:
Traditional payment processes will remain the norm; however, markets should anticipate continued innovation in the payments landscape as digital solutions gain traction.

Cash will continue to be king
As much as the world becomes increasingly digital; it is important to first recognise that cash will remain the foremost alternative bill payment method to debit orders and formal banking channels in South Africa.
‘With a large part of the South African population being mostly underbanked, we can expect the use of cash to remain the most popular form of exchange for bill payments,’ advises Hardie.
‘For this demographic, cash is the most convenient and reliable form of trade. Looking to the future, however, it is important to note that at some point cash will start to be cannibalised as more and more people become banked, as mobile money becomes better entrenched, and as e-wallets become more commonly used.’

More digitisation, more convenience
‘We can expect to see businesses more readily adopting a service bundling approach, where various services are combined into one platform. This can include online payments and payouts, real time notifications, debit order collections, loyalty solutions and a range of other functions, which will together create a far more integrated customer journey.’

Lower prices
‘We expect to see greater downward pressure on pricing across the board in the field of payments. This comes as bill issuers become more and more price sensitive, which is likely due to the state of the economy and impact of Covid-19 on consumers.
‘As a result, we may see certain card schemes investigating the idea of reducing the interchange rates around bill payments. If that happens in the card and digital world, it will make a huge impact and influence where people will go to pay,’ said Hardie.