The Future of Money.

For the longest time the banks, credit card companies, and payment technology providers dictated the ways in which consumers conducted a transaction with a brand. These institutions are no longer in complete control. The global adoption of mobile devices, combined with over 6.4 billion connected devices in use along with a new host of new business models are challenging the old way. Companies like UBS bank have launched an open innovation competition called “The Future of Finance Challenge” to help them keep up with the changing landscape.

A consumer’s transaction options have gone from a few methods (cash, card or check) into a diverse set of digital services housed on their smartphone. These new transaction services are being integrated into a larger brand experience whether it’s hitting the buy button in Google’s search engine, being one of the 7mm people buying coffee via Starbucks app or checking out in a Disney retail location with the simple tap of a wearable device.

The proliferation of ways people can pay along with the rise of contextual experiences means more potential touch points for transactions than ever before. Brands will initially wrestle with how to design for these new opportunities, but once they can deliver relevant and seamless payment experiences, they will be able to access unprecedented amounts of new data to help build more personal relationships with their customers.

“The new consumer relationship with money is more closely linked to brands versus the banks.
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Today’s accelerated pace is creating an entirely new ecosystem for consumers, brands, and the payment’s industry. To stay relevant banks must be integrated into the tapestry of people’s lives and it's done by thinking of Commerce from the human down, not the transaction up.

Five ways banks can meet the demands of the mobile first consumer.

Move beyond segmentation to real-time consumer profiles: The age of abundance has created a scarcity of attention. To personalize experiences with changing consumer sentiment brands will need to leave the traditional model of static customer segmentation behind and begin to develop a real-time view of the changing behaviors.

Implement design centered approaches: Mobile payments are allowing consumers to shop and pay for good with little to no interruption in their day. Working from the brand out in today’s consumer-led economy will lead to experiences that do not fit into the flow of how people shop and consume. Don’t just spend time understanding the journey of how people buy from you rather take a look at their whole life to determine ways you can fit at the right moment in time.

Create data-driven experiences: We know more than ever about consumers from what they bought, where they check in and what they like. This wealth of behavioral creates the opportunity to create more relevant experiences, offers, and new products. Data-driven experience planning means that you must move from mass audiences to a tailored experience based on behavior.

Connected Device Integration: 6.4 billion connected devices will be in use in 2016 to do everything from opening your garage door, telling your pharmacist when medications need a refill and ordering something from Amazon. If you allow payments to take place from these objects, it can further embed your brand into the fabric of people’s lives while providing new opportunities for revenue.

Embrace the programmable web: Opening up what is core to your role in the payments ecosystem whether it be security, processing or e-commerce to allow developers to build new business models faster ensures you will stay relevant in the changing payments landscape.