Payment Trends to Watch for in 2024: Insights from Visa, Wise, Unlimit, myTU, and BlueSnap

In the ever-evolving landscape of payment technology, it can be challenging to keep pace with the rapid innovations in paytech. As we explore the opportunities and innovations in the payments sector, it’s time to look ahead to 2024 and anticipate the payment trends that will shape the future, writes Tom Bleach in The Fintech Times.

Ramez Hanafi, Head of Digital Solutions at Visa, believes that 2024 will continue to emphasize creating value for consumers through payments. He envisions payments driven by choice, experience, and the availability of data. Contextualization of payments will play a pivotal role, allowing providers to offer timely, situation-aware products and services based on customer needs. Open data economies will enable integration between sectors, unlocking real value. Hanafi also highlights the exponential growth of data and its role in powering artificial intelligence (AI), which will remain a key topic in 2024, promoting financial well-being and security.

Steve Naudé, Head of Wise Platform, predicts that 2024 will usher in a greater emphasis on transparency in payments. In an era of economic turbulence, customers seek honesty and trustworthiness from payment providers. The demand for transparency extends to cross-border payments, where customers want real-time updates on their transactions, costs, and timelines. Transparent payment solutions not only benefit customers but also reduce operational costs and increase revenue for providers. Naudé cites the partnership between Bank Mandiri and Wise Platform as an example of a financial institution embracing transparency to provide low-cost, efficient international payments.

Irene Skrynova, Chief Customer Officer at Unlimit, anticipates the convergence of financial services and seamless customer experiences as a major payment trend in 2024. This trend involves deeper integration of financial products into everyday transactions, such as instant financing options, personalized financial advice, and loyalty rewards tied to payments. The goal is to create a holistic financial ecosystem that simplifies decision-making and enhances customer satisfaction, ultimately promoting financial inclusion and engagement in the digital economy.

Tomas Navickas, CTO, and co-founder of myTU, foresees AI’s continued dominance in payments. Beyond personalized assistants and financial education, AI could revolutionize user authentication by evaluating unique behavioral characteristics like gait, speech patterns, or reactions to stimuli, creating a «seamless identity.» AI may also autonomously conduct transactions on behalf of users, blurring the lines between individual technologies and offering an integrated, seamless payment experience.

Brian Gaynor, VP of Product and European Chief Executive of BlueSnap, predicts that payment orchestration will be the most significant payment trend in 2024. Unlike traditional middleware software, modern payment orchestration consolidates payment services and processing, controlled by a single platform. This approach reduces operational and technical complexity, increases authorization rates, and cuts costs for businesses. Large-scale merchants can benefit from the flexibility, cost optimization, and access to multiple geographic locations offered by global payment orchestration platforms.

As we move into 2024, these payment trends promise to reshape the payment landscape, emphasizing transparency, consumer value, integration, AI, and efficient payment orchestration. Staying attuned to these developments will be crucial for businesses and consumers alike.