Digital Payment Trends to Watch in 2023

Let’s face it, the payments industry was never what you called a trendy or eye-catching industry. Sure, there are probably some people who have always been passionate about payments, but the majority see them as a necessary step to doing business - nothing more, nothing less. This once humdrum industry has had a serious makeover. Exciting new solutions and trends like digital wallets, voice-activated payments, and crypto have the industry abuzz. Below we share six digital payments trends that have everyone talking about payments!

Customer Expectations Are Changing

When the pandemic forced the world to shut down, consumers quickly turned to digital payment options to make purchases and pay for services. Using cash was frowned upon, and going to walk-in centers to pay bills wasn’t possible. Fast forward to today, and many of these behaviors have stuck around. Cash use is way down, and digital wallet use is skyrocketing. Expanding digital payment options to your customers is a great (and we’d say essential) starting point if you're looking to kickstart your customer satisfaction.

Cash Is Taking a Backseat While Credit Cards Are Gaining Ground

Just one in five consumers preferred to pay with cash for in-person payments in 2021.¹ Even fewer are using cash for purchases - about four in ten in a typical week.² Though credit cards have been around for about a century, the number of credit card users reached an all-time high of 196 million at the end of 2021.³ All this to say, keep credit cards in your payment mix even when adding new payment options because consumers still really rely on them.

Demand for Buy Now Pay Later Is Growing

More than one in five U.S. shoppers are expected to make a Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) purchase this year, and that ratio is projected to top one in four by 2025. Gen X and Millennials are responsible for most of those transactions.⁴ Since these two demographics have the highest spending potential, BNPL solutions could have a bright future.

More Customers Using Digital Wallets for Bill Payments

If there was any question about whether digital wallets would take off, that question was resoundingly answered during the pandemic. Almost seven in ten customers used digital wallets in 2022, and 37% used them to make bill payments.⁵ The frequency is rising along with the number of providers being used. If you’ve got digital wallets on your radar this year, consider adding several options to your customers. Click here to learn which digital wallets customers use most.

Cypto Is Gaining Traction

When surveyed, 88 % of institutional and 75% of retail investors indicated that cryptocurrencies will see mainstream adoption within the next 10 years.⁶ Already 220 million people are using cryptocurrency to pay for everything from travel to sports tickets to mobile phone services globally.⁷ We’re not in the business of making predictions but given some financial experts believe crypto is the future of money, it’s something to keep your eye on. 

Consumers Are Using Voice-Activated Payments More

Alexa (or Google or Siri), pay my hydro bill. This is happening more and more in American homes. Using smart speakers and virtual assistants to pay bills is increasing. In fact, the adoption of voice payments rose this year to 31% of the adult population compared to 24% in 2021 and 19% in 2020.⁸ Consumers love the convenience of making voice-activated payments at any time of the day or night.

If you want to dig deeper into the payment trends the experts will be keeping their eyes on in 2023, check out our white paper, 6 Digital Payment Trends to Watch for in 2023.

Other resources you may find interesting:

New Podcast Episode: Latest Payment Innovations Are Changing How We Pay

New KUBRA Research Confirms Digital Wallet Use Is Growing

What Payment Methods Your Customers Prefer

Sources

1. More Americans are joining the ‘cashless’ economy, Pew Research Center, 2022.
2. Ibid.
3. TransUnion.
4. Maurie Backman and Jack Caporal, Study: Buy Now, Pay Later Services Grow in Popularity, The Ascent, July 2022.
5. KUBRA Digital Wallets Research 2022.
6. Crypto will be universally adopted within 10 years and overtake traditional investments - new survey, euronews, May 11, 2022.
7. Measuring global crypto users: A study to measure market size using on-chain metrics,” Crypto.com, July 2021.
8. Voice payment adoption rate in the United States in 2017 with forecasts from 2018 to 2022, Statista.