The vaccine may be here and there are flickers of back-to-normal in some places, but the popularity of contactless payment is likely here to stay
Contactless Payment. You can blame the pandemic, but this was coming down the pipeline and COVID just sped up the process. A Visa Back to Business study revealed that 54% of consumers would switch to a retailer that offered contactless payment options. Recognize that contactless payment comes in many forms, including mobile wallets, apps, barcodes, and QR codes, and more. The Visa report noted that 70% of U.S. consumers changed how they pay for products due to the pandemic: They’re either shopping entirely online, using cash less often, or utilizing contactless payment options when available. The vaccine may be here and there are flickers of back-to-normal in some places, but the popularity of contactless payment is likely here to stay.
Cash. Dirty money has taken on new meaning these days. People wary of viral contamination are avoiding actual physical currency. Combine that with a national coin shortage; stores and banks are actively discouraging people from using coins, or are only accepting exact change. The result is that people are reluctant to use cash and are more likely to choose another form of payment.
It’s important to note that this is largely a B2C phenomenon. In the B2B world, checks are still king, as they leave a clean and consistent paper trail.
With the coronavirus vaccine slowly reaching larger distribution, expect old business practices to resurface, like travel (don’t worry, only the fun travel. For the rest, we’ll stick with Zoom). The Common Trust Network, an initiative of the The World Health Initiative, has partnered with major airlines such as Cathay Pacific, JetBlue, and United Airlines among others, to create the CommonPass App. The app is a health passport of sorts, where people can upload medical information like COVID negative test results and coronavirus vaccination verification that officials in different countries can access through a QR code while keeping sensitive medical information private. The aim is to get back to normal (does the word have any meaning anymore?) while keeping everyone safe.
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