was a little late to the party when it came to the uptake in virtual cards, businesses are quickly realising the benefits of this payment method.
If a team member is travelling, they can ensure that the card can only be used at the relevant merchants Soon after, we had the launch of Instant EFT, and then of course Covid hit. The drive for lower contact payment methods was accelerated by the pandemic with many consumers shifting to tapping either cards or phones on terminals. As consumers become more comfortable with using their phones, and generating and using virtual cards, this should translate into healthy growth in the coming year.
The administrative burden is further reduced since virtual card charges are instantly reconciled and give the accounts teams a very clear overview. They know who each card was issued to and the parameters of where and when the card could be used. “It only takes you making one successful transaction with a new payment method to overcome user resistance. It’s all about getting over the chicken and egg conundrum. Whenever change in the payments industry is introduced, we see a slow burn and then a scaling not often seen in most industries as users adapt.
Big banks have departments that have historically focused on selling cards and point-of-sale devices. It’s easy to see why they may feel threatened by new payment technologies that appear to disrupt this device and plastic-centric paradigm. The future of payments is increased interoperability across payment types, allowing the person making the payment to choose which method works for them, and allowing the merchant, or the entity receiving the payment, to accept it in any way imaginable.
Nice one CJWza