FINANCIALS, PAYMENTS, PROPERTY & INSURANCE

Visa article: What’s next in payments for 2024?

The payments industry is always changing. 

In 2024, we’re keeping a close watch on six key trends: 

1. Creators, SMBs take business worldwide. Next year is the year SMBs — from creators and solopreneurs to brick-and-mortar businesses — shift their sights beyond the neighborhood to the global digital economy. Nearly 4 in 5 surveyed SMBs (79%) see selling across borders as key to future growth. And consumers are ready, with 72% in our survey saying they are comfortable buying from businesses in other countries [1]. And digital payment tools can help make cross-border expansion easier than ever. 

2. Interoperability picks up steam. Digital payments have transformed the way we move money. But the explosion of networks and payment methods — from apps and wallets to blockchains, together with legacy infrastructure — has made for a splintered experience. But that is changing. With interoperability taking priority, we expect a more seamless future of global payments — one where moving money across services is as seamless as using one. 

3. Open infrastructure makes commerce easier. In 2024, we expect a notable shift to more plug-and-play platform-agnostic payments services, making it possible for businesses to more easily provide the kind of experiences consumers have grown to expect. What does that mean in practice? It means businesses can use the products and services they need as they need them — from token solutions, to omni-channel experiences, without having to reinvent the wheel. And as more and more businesses adopt these new layers and capabilities, the world of commerce becomes easier to operate. 

4. Services make tailored solutions easier for merchants, banks and FIs. Today, consumers expect an experience tailored to them. To make it happen, more businesses are looking toward partner-based solutions or managed services to close the gap. Value-added services built through partnerships can help companies give consumers what they want without disrupting their businesses or requiring new capabilities in-house — which can be expensive, time-consuming, and not a sure thing. 

5. AI brings challenges and opportunities. One of the most exciting future applications of generative AI is in combating fraud — taking insights from multiple domains to make more accurate decisions around fraudulent transactions and legitimate purchases. Generative AI will also change how many work, improving product, data structure, models, operations, and infrastructure. But AI brings new challenges to payments, too. Generative AI tools will help make fraud itself more accessible — which means businesses and consumers will need to adapt to an evolving threat landscape. 

6. Revenge travel is here to stay. Travel is back, and travelers are making up for lost time. Visa’s Global Travel Intentions Study 2023 found that more than 2/3 of international travelers recognized the rising cost of vacation but are traveling anyway, with only 4% planning to cut back [2]. Worldwide, travelers are looking forward to an average of 2 leisure trips over the next 12 months, with affluent travelers banking on even more. A preference for flexibility in travel arrangements remains, and a priority placed on safety and cleanliness have become clear drivers when it comes to choosing accommodations.