Foreword

Payments are the lifeblood of any business, impacting everything a business does — from cash flow and hiring, to credit, investment and expansion. But until recently, payments were an afterthought in most businesses, separate from sales, marketing and customer service, and dealt with after customers signed on the dotted line. Companies never gave much thought to how payments impacted the customer experience or how they could help modernize the business.

The advance of digital and mobile technologies started to shift that dynamic, most visibly in the B2C arena, where most e-commerce transactions happen with a simple click or swipe. Now that innovation is translating into higher-value B2C and B2B transactions as well. The COVID-19 pandemic put that shift into hyper-drive, as convenient, secure, digital payments became a minimum business requirement. The shift was particularly noticeable in industries that have traditionally been slow to adopt digital, like healthcare and education.

Today, we see payments—and specifically the ease with which customers can pay, and the efficiency with which businesses reconcile those payments—as a vital and strategic role in many organizations. This is taking shape in different ways in different industries, but at the core is digital technology, weaving together the various components of customer acquisition and retention, including payments.

This report examines this market shift, highlighting some of the macro themes we’re seeing across our business, as well as in the broader market.

It also takes a closer look at the unique industries we serve, and how the expectations of those payers—students, patients, travelers, and other businesses—are helping to inform the payment technologies businesses use to boost engagement and adoption.

Mike Massaro