As highlighted in this article, five concrete trends are set to gain significant momentum:
- Expansion into New Verticals: Digital payment adoption—previously concentrated primarily in retail, hospitality, and restaurants—is extending into new industries alongside hybrid engagement models. This shift will impact online grocery delivery, travel, insurance, and telecommunications, where subscription-based models are increasingly taking root.
- The Evolution of In-Store Shopping: In-person shopping is expected to make a strong comeback, but with a structural shift. Online and offline channels will merge seamlessly, giving an edge to brands that offer personalized customer experiences and frictionless in-store checkout. In this landscape, leveraging payment data to uncover actionable customer insights will be essential for driving loyalty.
Social Commerce and Superapps
- Rise of Social Commerce: Social media feeds and stories are evolving into direct sales channels. Leading social platforms are embedding native checkout features, a capability expanding across the broader ecosystem. Digital payment technology will play a central role by enabling content creators to collect tips and earn ad-revenue commissions.
- Boom of Superapps & BNPL: Powered by digital wallets and "Buy Now, Pay Later" (BNPL) options, superapps are rapidly scaling. These platforms extend beyond payment processing to offer comprehensive ecosystems—allowing users to book travel, pay online, manage digital identification, and more. This expansion is likely to bring increased regulatory oversight to the sector.
- Embedded Payments for SMBs: Digital platforms will increasingly integrate embedded payment solutions to better serve small and medium-sized businesses.
Everything points to 2022 being another milestone year for digital payments. To stay competitive, companies must closely monitor consumer behavior—the ultimate factor in determining which payment innovations are here to stay.