Consumers are increasingly using mobile phones in transactions and take advantage of features such as in-app payment capabilities and social shopping.
However, innovation in the payments space has seen established players try to defend and grow their existing business, while new entrants aim to grab a share of the market.
As the payments sector continues to remain attractive, the market has responded by expanding to secure a share of gross transaction value for many players.
Equity Bank #ticker: EQTY leveraging innovations in the payments space to enhance the customer experience
Consumers are increasingly using mobile phones in transactions and take advantage of features such as in-app payment capabilities and social shopping.
However, innovation in the payments space has seen established players try to defend and grow their existing business, while new entrants aim to grab a share of the market.
As the payments sector continues to remain attractive, the market has responded by expanding to secure a share of gross transaction value for many players. But the essential currency for payments now seems to be innovation, with the vast majority of players subscribing to the ‘innovate or die’ philosophy.
Digital
The biggest competition facing cards is cash and not mobile platforms. This is because, with cash, most transactions happen directly between a buyer and a seller. Therefore, it is usually both secure and private. But with digital payments, users are always curious not just that their money is secure, but the way they spend is also kept private. Three things continue to define the uptake of alternative channels of payments; security, privacy and reliability.
The continued preference to transact via cards is further highlighted by a report by the World Payments Report 2017, which indicates that payments by cards grew faster than other options — an indication of superior convenience and security, particularly for in-store and online purchases.
Additionally, cards increased their share of global non-cash transactions by 1.2 per cent. The report also noted that consumers are largely unwilling to pay more for transactions but businesses are willing to pay for payments services that encourage the consumer to buy.
In the quest to further deepen this experience, Equity Bank Visa Card brings to its customers an opportunity for them to carry out any transactions in a seamless and secure manner at any Visa-branded merchant outlet at no charge.
This means that a customer does not need to carry cash around or make trips to the ATMs to withdraw money to complete a given transaction. Customers can simply use their Equity Bank Visa card to pay for shopping at the supermarket, food and drinks at restaurant or hotels, pay for fuel at the petrol stations, pay bills at hospitals, salons, barber shops and all other outlets displaying the VISA sign.
Equity Bank Visa also facilitate both offline and online payments. It comes with the Chip and PIN functionality, providing a secure layer for a customer to authorise payments.
The card also enables a customer to pay for goods and services of any amount without incurring any transaction charges.
Equity Bank is also betting on the growth of e-commerce, which fuels the use of cards, with more people now buying more things online than ever before. The Equity Bank Visa card has been redesigned to make it more attractive and cool.
The bank is confident that the adoption of chip technology will play an integral role in helping make the use of cards more secure and reliable.
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