The Three Forces Driving 2022’s Biggest Payment Trends

BlueSnap is a Business Reporter client.

The past two years have seen an unprecedented acceleration of digital payment adoption across all industries. For many businesses, 2020 saw a leap that analysts didn’t expect for another seven years, according to McKinsey. And the business transformation journey is ongoing.

This year, leaders will continue to fine-tune the processes they’ve put in place and will begin to look to digital payments to drive business impact and the bottom line, rather than only playing a supporting role. BlueSnap’s eBook, “2022: The Year of Optimizing Payments,” covers key payment trends focused on three business goals: driving growth, elevating the customer experience and optimizing payments.

Driving growth

Businesses of all types have come to understand that digital payments lead to higher conversion rates, an increase in successful payments and more profitable geographic expansion.

In 2022, organizations continue to build on the success they’ve already achieved with digital payments, using payment optimization tools to drive higher conversion rates and growth. Tools such as intelligent payment routing and failover technology help increase authorizations and allow companies to take full advantage of their investment in digital payments.

We’re also seeing more businesses moving into the global marketplace. With digital payments, companies can sell to customers worldwide, and the right payments partner can make international payments simple and efficient. By 2027, the value of all cross-border payments is projected to be $250 trillion, so now is the time to be sure your payment solution will help you make the most of the global marketplace.

Elevating the customer experience

Customers have quickly become accustomed to the convenience and ease of use of digital payments. More B2B businesses than ever now offer online payments, and 53% of business leaders want to accept more digital payments, according to the Progressing Payments report. Accounts receivable teams are also seeing the benefits of sending electronic invoices and receiving digital payments.

Businesses will continue to offer more features to get the most out of their customers’ affinity for going digital, and will provide more payment options and localize each customer’s payment experience. Whether accommodating cashless customers with alternative payment methods or offering more flexible payment options like buy now, pay later, such efforts that cater to customers’ payment desires will ultimately mean more sales and revenue.

Optimizing payments for the best ROI

For many businesses, the quick shift to digital payments, expansion into global markets and digitalization of accounts receivable processes was a result of the pandemic. This year, we see these businesses moving away from the patchwork solutions they initially put in place to more cost-effective, strategic payment solutions that provide positive ROI. Businesses will continue to move full steam ahead to optimize their authorization rates, consolidate vendors, reduce their tech debt and fully automate their accounts receivable operations.

Included in these process improvements are how businesses approach their security, fraud prevention and compliance on a global scale, and businesses are partnering with payment platforms that offer strong solutions in these areas.

These goals and more are discussed in-depth in our eBook: 2022: The Year of Optimizing Payments.

— April Grudier, Vice President, Marketing and Partner Strategy, BlueSnap