The financial technology sector converged on Las Vegas for Money 20/20 last week, bringing together the biggest industry names to discuss the future of the payments, finance and commerce.
Following four days of discussions, hundreds of speakers and thousands of attendees, what caught our eye at Money 20/20?
Cryptocurrencies, meet security
The hype surrounding cryptocurrencies and broader blockchain applications remains undiminished, with discussion spanning ICOs, air drops and the seemingly obligatory celebrity tie-in (this year coming courtesy of Akoin).
That said, Asiff Hirji, the chief operating officer of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, admitted that the industry was still building to its “iPhone moment”, citing the lack of stability as a leading cause. Given the rampant fraud across the cryptocurrency market, there are few that would disagree.
Fortunately, there are immediately available solutions that provide cryptocurrencies with the security it demands. Tokenization technology, which has already proved successful in securing mobile payments, has huge potential to deliver a frictionless layer of security to complement the immutability of the blockchain.
Securing remote commerce
Jumping to digital payments of a different kind, EMVCo published a draft of its EMV® Secure Remote Commerce (SRC) Specification to help address rising fraud levels in global e-commerce, while reducing consumer friction during online checkout.
According to EMVCo, the draft specification provides a foundation that will enable the processing of e-commerce transactions in a consistent, streamlined fashion across a variety of digital channels and devices, including smartphones, tablets, PCs and other connected devices.
With solutions built on EMV SRC expected in mid-2019, this will be a key trend to watch as momentum for digital payment continues to build. So too will be growing support for EMV card-on-file tokenization. As the merchant stores payment tokens in their database rather than the actual card number, security is enhanced and consumer convenience is increased.
More than ‘just payments’
Following another challenging year for brick-and-mortar retailers across the world, Money 20/20 once again proved that payments innovation and investment is key to creating an enhanced in-store retail experience to compete with online.
Back in 2016, 80% of merchants saw payments as a fundamental part of their business strategy, with 92% expecting to maintain or increase investment over the next 12-18 months (Source: Ovum). Two year after the report, have good intentions translated into meaningful actions?
In short, yes.
Many brick-and-mortar retailers have evolved their offering to streamline and enrich the buying experience. For forward-thinking merchants, mobile wallets are more than just another payment method. Rather, they are a secure platform that enables them to cut waiting lines, deliver real-time incentives and transform rewards programs.
Money 20/19?
As we look towards 2019 and beyond, cryptocurrencies, digital commerce and in-store payments are poised for continued transformation. It is clear, however, that security in concert with simplicity is the killer value proposition. Finding this combination should be the focus of innovation efforts.
For a deeper dive into how tokenization can improve the security of blockchain assets, download the Rambus e-book. To find out more about mobile scan-and-go technology can deliver increased revenues, an enhanced customer experience and optimized operational efficiencies, download the Rambus white paper.
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