The digital age has driven more businesses to adopt new payment automation technologies. This transformation has skyrocketed since 2020 because of the effects of the pandemic. According to Statista, the transaction value in the digital payments segment will show an annual growth rate of 12.31% between 2022 and 2027.
This steady growth has increased the demand for payment automation systems. Automation offers convenience, increases access to faster payments, saves businesses money and time, and integrates easily with other existing accounting software to streamline operations.
As a merchant, understanding the payment processing industry trends and how to incorporate them into your business going into 2023 will help you scale faster! Identifying the scope of progress with this technology will help you choose the correct payment solutions for your business. So, what are the payment automation trends for 2023? How will these trends affect your business as a merchant? How do you take advantage right now? Let’s jump right in.
What is Payments Automation?
Payments automation refers to tools that help businesses process, track, and automate bill payments via electronic payment methods. The top electronic payment methods that leverage automation include ACH transfers, wire transfers, virtual card payments, and electronic funds transfers (EFTs).
Businesses use these tools to speed up payment processing, improve workflow, and reduce errors. Automation is on the rise across different industries and verticals within organizations. One study by Juniper Research shows that the number of people using digital wallets will go up from 2.3 billion to almost 4 billion by 2024.
Payment automation optimizes procedures that were previously performed manually by employees. It eases the process of invoicing, verification of ACH transfers, approval, and sending of payments.
A List of 10 Payment Automation Trends
To meet the demand for payment technologies, merchants need quickly adapt to the latest trends. Here are some of the top payment trends for 2023 that you can leverage for the success of your business:
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being increasingly used as the core of payment automation systems.
- Intelligent accounting software is reducing the dependency on manual payment processing and reconciliation methods.
- There’s an increase in the demand for “buy now, pay later” payments for smaller transaction amounts.
- Mobile wallets are gaining popularity across the globe. More and more countries are adopting popular digital payment systems. The rise of ISO20022 and open banking will empower lower processing costs for cross-border payments while making them faster and safer.
- Data analytics and forecasting tools are generating more payment reports for marketing and sales to run targeted campaigns.
- Improved data security tools are helping to protect sensitive payment information for online payments for all eCommerce transactions.
- Cloud-based payment technologies are boosting flexibility and convenience to help small organizations scale quickly without spending millions of dollars and years on research.
- Payment automation systems are increasingly integrating with enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems to exchange business-critical information seamlessly.
- Automated cash flow management tools are being widely used for better reporting and digital reconciliation.
- Payment processing platforms focusing on the next generation of contactless payment solutions, such as SMS payments, hosted payment portals, and IVR payments, are dominating the market.
How Do These Trends Affect You?
The future of payments is constantly evolving—driven by industries like e-commerce. Digital and mobile wallets accounted for almost half of the global e-commerce payment transactions in 2021 and may hit 53% in 2025. Therefore, you need to strategize better as a merchant because these payment trends will affect your customers and business operations. Here are some ways these trends impact you.
Faster Payment Processing
Payment automation speeds up processes like invoicing and recurring payments. If your business deals in automatic payments, you don’t have to worry about customers making payments on time. Using AI and valuable application programming interfaces (API) makes paying your vendors simpler and quicker.
Cheaper Transaction Costs
Compared to paper transactions, automated payments are way cheaper. For example, switching to electronic processes will reduce your expenditure on salaries incurred for manual accounting and reconciliation.
Implement a robust payment solution that processes invoices faster. Automated systems also send payment reminders to customers and vendors, reducing your spending.
Fewer Errors
The latest payment trends come with fewer errors thanks to the digitization of processes. An automated payment system prevents the duplication of entries or overpayments.
Errors erode the merchant-supplier relationship, especially if the financial records are not in order. They make it hard for merchants to reconcile payment information, leading to losses.
Fraud Prevention
Fraud has been on the rise in recent years. Consumers lost $5.8 billion to fraudsters in 2021, a 70% increase from 2020.
The latest payment automation trends come with improved data security tools to protect sensitive customer information. A good payments system is PCI-compliant to help merchants accept payments without storing any customer banking details on their network.
All-in-One Payment Platform
The current payment trends help merchants accept multiple modes of payment from customers and vendors. There are payment processors with technologies that allow SMS payments, email invoicing, IVR payments, and ACH payments. Therefore, if a merchant adopts a modern payment gateway, it becomes easier to automate processes and collect bills on one platform.
How to Get Started with the Latest Payment Automation Technologies
Digital payments are essential for modern businesses like yours. These innovative payment solutions play a huge role in your company’s success, keeping you ahead of the competition. Why? Because of faster and more accurate processes.
If you are thinking of automating your payment systems, here’s how to get started:
- Step 1: Identify processes that need automation. This should include the payment platforms that deal with money management and sensitive customer data.
- Step 2: Identify weak areas in your payment systems and make them the primary focus.
- Step 3: Partner with a reputable payment gateway. Working with a Nacha Preferred Partner for your ACH payments and automation improves accuracy, security, and efficiency.
Closing Thoughts
As a merchant, you can optimize your POS systems, payment terminals, mobile apps, and online storefronts by adopting the latest payment trends in the market today.
Digital payments are here to stay.
Adopt the latest payment technologies to stay ahead of the game.
These automated methods allow you to process payments much faster, improve reconciliation abilities, prevent fraud, reduce the chances of errors, and save time and money. Therefore, you should not compromise on the systems you choose for your business.
One of the best ways to automate payments is by partnering with a reliable payment processor like the team here at iCG.
Our all-in-one payment solution accepts different types of payments and is easy to integrate. It is PCI-compliant, so customer information will be safe. Schedule a call now if you’re looking to supercharge your 2023 (and beyond) with our automated payment solutions.
