Accelerating digital innovation
Our panelists agreed that throughout Latin America, the pandemic has accelerated the adoption of new payment methods and channels. In Argentina, mobile wallet adoption skyrocketed with one of the main state banks now capable of opening accounts remotely, 100 percent online, for free.
To incentivize eCommerce shopping, Colombia suspended its VAT for a day, which resulted in an all-time eCommerce sales record of nearly 312 billion pesos (USD $80.85 million). This initiative forced banks, processors and gateways to reconsider their business models and processes in relation to how they are serving the country’s eCommerce customers.
Forty-three percent of our webinar participants listed an increase in digital channel transactions as having the biggest impact on their businesses, to put further evidence behind these examples.
New relationships and collaboration
To meet increasing demand for digital payments, payment players must leverage open banking platforms for greater collaboration. Banks and fintechs must work to integrate their products and solutions; they must deliver the truly digital experiences that customers now expect and that can only be achieved through collaboration, and an open ecosystem and mindset.
Looking forward, the need for collaboration will intensify as new capabilities and channels, such as QR codes, are either introduced or become more mainstream. Banks and other financial institutions will be pressed to speed up time to market to maintain customer loyalty and drive revenue.
Additionally, pan-regional schemes and real-time payments connectivity will create even greater demand for partners who can quickly and easily allow banks, merchants and customers to tap into new markets.
Smarter fraud prevention
As always, fraud is a central concern for any organization within the payments ecosystem, including the Latin American region. Even more so now that, with pandemic-related lockdowns and restrictions in place, fraudsters have honed their digital skills. The rise of digital and cross-border payments has seen a relative increase in fraud, forcing companies to deploy smarter, more robust fraud prevention technologies.
The issue at hand is how to protect customers without impacting the customer experience. Artificial intelligence and machine learning are already proving effective in more accurately separating genuine transactions from fraudulent ones, but these systems must be bolstered by emerging technologies, such as biometric matching, to prevent identity theft. Collaboration between participants across the ecosystem will also be key, as fraudster also work as teams to exploit weaknesses.
Top priorities
Flexibility – From the way we work to the technology we deploy, organizations must maintain flexibility to adapt to complex situations in a faster manner.
Integration – Finding the right alliances with industry participants will accelerate the development of digital offerings that drive economic growth and satisfy customer demands.
Security – Emerging payment types and channels, coupled with a newfound reliance on eCommerce and digital payments, present the perfect storm for organizations attempting to secure customers. The entire payments chain must be active and involved in developing and implementing faster, smarter, more complete security solutions.
Omni-channel – While eCommerce is growing, there is still plenty of room for in-store and in-person payments. Merchants must work to ensure these experiences (buy online, pickup in-store) and payments (contactless) are simple, convenient and secure.
For more insights from our expert panelists, check out the full on-demand webinar.
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ACI Enterprise Payments Platform 
Federico is a corporate lawyer turned into a payments enthusiast. Federico started his technological journey in 2015 when he joined ACI and hasn´t looked back since. He has immersed himself in the payments industry, and as millennials do, he believes technology will seamlessly change the way we conduct our day-to-day lives and is a proponent of the value of user experience in today´s consumer society. He leads our sales team across Spanish Speaking Americas where his clients play a leading role at the cutting edge of real-time and digital payments. Federico supports his clients in a region which has ambitious plans to modernize its payments systems for a digital age focused on financial inclusion and cross-border commerce. Federico currently resides in Colombia, but you will find him hopping all over Latin America. Federico es un abogado corporativo convertido en un entusiasta de la industria de los pagos. Federico comenzó su viaje tecnológico en 2015 cuando se unió a ACI y, desde entonces, no ha mirado atrás. Se ha sumergido en la industria de los pagos y, como buen millennial, cree que la tecnología acabará cambiando la forma en la que vivimos nuestro día a día. Federico también es un defensor del valor que tiene la experiencia del usuario y, aún más, en la sociedad de consumo actual. Dirige nuestro equipo de ventas en América Latina, donde sus clientes desempeñan un papel fundamental en la innovación de los pagos digitales y en tiempo real. Federico apoya a sus clientes en una región donde hay grandes planes ambiciosos para modernizar sus sistemas de pagos y enfrentarse a una era digital centrada en la inclusión financiera y el comercio transfronterizo. Aunque Federico reside actualmente en Colombia, puedes encontrarle por cualquier rincón de Latinoamérica.
