The online payment space is the area that is going to be shaken to it's core over the next 5 years and will be something to watch closely. Crypto will play a major role in this area as businesses have been left little choice, but to make their own arrangements.
I do think the only positive from the Covid lockdowns was it forced basically everyone to shop online. This in an around about way is a good thing for crypto as the first steps are always the hardest. Many people didn't trust using their credit cards online for fear of fraud or being conned somehow. How things change so quickly as we have moved further and further away from using cash and are now virtually a cashless society. Personally I haven't used cash in a few years now as there is no need.
I read an article this morning published by Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) stating that they felt banks were well placed to take advantage of online and the introduction of Central Bank Digital Currencies or CBDC's as we know them. I tend to disagree with their report for a number of reasons as I believe their relevance is being eroded away by their own greed. They are forcing businesses to look elsewhere for payment service providers/solutions using fintech and blockchain.
Businesses are generally not happy with the current options they have at their disposal and this is all down to the old way of doing payments. Gateway payment providers like Visa, Paypal, Amercian Express are prime examples of why things have to change and they will. These companies charge a service fee as a percentage of the transaction to both the business and the customer who is paying. Sometimes there are addition al fees such as foreign exchange involved depending whereabouts in the world you are adding more fees.
PWC is banking on a status quo with everyone continuing on the same type of payment systems we see now except those will now be digital. This is a serious error of judgement as they could not be further away from the truth.
The next phase of the disruption is going to be driven by fintech offering companies their own payment solutions that they control doing away with the the gate keepers who have had control up until now. Banks will be less relevant as the corporates will either be using their own currency or a crypto currency that matches their needs. No longer will we see percentage fees being lost by everyone doing the transactions and no need for forex either to be involved.
Businesses are going to take back control of their own payments and why so many are already investing heavily into this type of fintech. The likes of Amazon and Walmart will be some of the first to move but expect other big names to also be finalizing plans to go independent.
It is not only the house hold name companies that we know but others like Playtikka who would benefit by such a move. An online gaming company who is on track to surpass $3 billion in revenue this year alone. How much are they forking out to payment gateway providers as 5% would equate to $150 million.