However, not everything has been shadows. Those who made the decision to move forward in the digitization of their businesses are now in a position that allows them to “ride the wave” and be part of an era of very important changes in the way companies and their customers interact.
The lockdown has forced consumers to migrate from physical channels to digital channels, which has brought a significant increase in the demand for online purchases. According to the Santiago Chamber of Commerce, by the end of March of this year, online purchases had grown 119% (compared to the same period last year), to the detriment of sales in physical stores, which fell by 41%.
According to a study by Mercado Libre, between the months of March and May of this year, 1.7 million new online buyers were added in Latin America, not only purchasing items associated with protection against the pandemic, but also making purchases associated with lifestyle and mass consumption, such as board games, beauty products, and consoles, among other categories.
The study shows that, in Chile, 74% of respondents state they will continue using electronic channels after the pandemic, while 70% will continue using electronic means of payments.
Challenges for the Payment Ecosystem
The increasing demand and changes in customer behavior present significant challenges for the players in the payment ecosystem. Both the companies that sell their products / services and the financial and non-financial institutions that make this possible must be able to respond appropriately and in a timely manner.
On the one hand, we should ask: h ow do we attract and retain new users? It is essential to be flexible and offer experiences that respond to the expectations and habits of new consumers, as well as be able to offer digital means of payment that include everyone. In this regard, new prepaid issuers and their portfolios have the chance to attract the unbanked segment, which needs an alternative to access goods and services through online channels.
On the other hand, it is important to ensure a 100% digital and frictionless operation that stimulates, instead of discouraging, the use of online channels, from customer onboarding to payment and claims management. If it had previously seemed annoying to have to go through physical channels to make payments or transactions, doing it now would border on the absurd.
Today, there are strategies and technologies, such as risk-based authentication, which allow you to adjust the intensity of the interaction with the user based on their profile, context, and behavior to avoid unnecessary friction throughout their experience.
Finally, this increase in demand should not mean a commensurate increase in fraud. According to data provided by Nova Red, March saw a growth of close to 40% in cybercrimes, mostly phishing.
Now more than ever, preventing fraud implies leaving aside the static rules that produce high rates of denial (and therefore dissatisfaction) and starting to look at customers from a 360º angle, as a unit that must be understood and that interacts through multiple transactions, channels, and devices. We must move towards the implementation of rules to analyze customer behavior beyond payment, to “fine-tune the aim”, increase acceptance, and reduce false positives.
The change is just beginning and is here to stay. There is still time to rethink business models, to adapt them to this “new normal,” and to be able to participate in the new economy.
Article by Pablo Severín Bull, Evertec Regional Presales Manager.