The much-anticipated series “House of the Dragon” premiered a few weeks ago with a record-breaking viewership of 10 million on day one alone. It confirmed that “Game of Thrones” fans were anxious for more – but what exactly makes the franchise so popular?
The breakneck rate of change in the digital payments space over the last decade has set the stage for a new concept: the Payments Platform as a Service.
The EMV liability shift in 2015 monopolized much of the industry’s time and attention, but insiders knew a whiplash would follow to catch up with tech advancements. Contactless payments were already on the radar when the U.S. flipped the switch for EMV, and brick-and-mortar shoppers were increasingly evolving into omnichannel consumers.
When you think about an ideal smart home, it probably includes smart appliances like a fridge or a stove, your thermostat, light bulbs, a sound system, security system, etc. And while having all these connected devices can certainly make managing your home easier, it’s likely that that most devices come from different service providers. This means the need for multiple apps to manage all of your services, which for anyone is less than ideal if you’re trying to do multiple tasks at once – like changing your lights, audio system and thermostat to turn on when you get home. Now imagine being able control all these systems from one app – wouldn’t that make your life a lot easier? You could make changes for multiple devices at once or even allow them to send data to each other to improve your experience.
Did you know that mechanical Point of sale (POS) systems have been around since at least 1879? Electronic POS systems were introduced in 1973 – which, depending on how old you are, doesn’t seem that long ago! The 1980s ushered in the digital age, which has brought us to an inflection point of exponential growth opportunities thanks to innovations in quantum computing, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, and neuroscience. These developments promise to deliver more than business growth, they have the potential to yield dramatic leaps in human well-being.
Payments are so much more than they used to be. Merchants of all sizes are under pressure to do more with the technology they have and exceed customer expectations. This means accepting all payment methods, adding value at checkout, serving customers in-aisle, and managing operations seamlessly.
