There is no doubt that we are in a technological, millennial age, technology has come to replace many of the daily things we do, it has come to help us, to make life easier. Today many young people do not know what it is to go to a bank, because they have everything within reach of their mobile or computer. This era has made the use of cash less and less common, even the payment in certain legal tender currencies are also taking a backseat with the arrival of cryptocurrencies.
The truth of this technological advance is that according to the recent survey carried out by the Bank of Spain, in 2020 payments by consumers have changed significantly, with a strong inclination towards digitization. According to this survey, more than 54% of the population prefers to pay with a debit card, it is the most used method today. The habit of using cash is decreasing, if in 2014 almost 80% of the population paid with bills and coins, in 2020 it only does 36.6% and it is foreseeable that it will continue to decrease.
Now, with the arrival of Covid-19 many things have changed, and the contact or direct interaction between people and objects has become a little more reduced, thereby promoting the use of new digital payment methods, which are here to stay. definitely for its ability to streamline processes and reduce the risk of contagion. In the transition to the new normal and hand in hand with cashless, the adoption of various forms of “contactless” payment has grown. These forms of payment are a boom in the tourism sector, and we want to show you the enumeration and classification that the Tecnohotel news platform has made, which seems to us the most accurate:
- Contactless payments and wallets
The “contactless” methods from the mobile or other devices such as wearables (watches or other accessories), became a very popular alternative to the fear of contagion. In the line of contactless payments, its own development, or through large providers, of solutions has grown to offer the possibility of including virtual cards in “purses” or wallets, to allow payment with mobile phones. Cards, old acquaintances, are the most used.
- QR codes
In the last year, the security measures imposed on Covid-19 have made QR codes gain strength and popularity among a wide range of sectors. One of the sectors that quickly adopted this method was the restoration that, in a generalized way, digitizes its letters and menus. But it is not the only use of QR codes that has spread, due to the need for contactless transactions, QR codes are currently used to process payments or complete a financial transaction.
- MoTo payments and Pay by link
After the end of the lockdown, businesses focused on minimizing the risk of contagion. According to PaynoPain, the main challenge has been to provide tools to bring its products closer to those that were not digitized. In relation to this, the use of payment links sent through email, SMS or WhatsApp (MoTo payments and pay by link), experienced a 150% increase during 2020 compared to the previous year, especially in local businesses , since they allowed to dispense with cash and go through the store only to pick up the order, reducing the time of presence in the establishment, as indicated by the company.
- Peer-to-peer
The percentage of implementation of instant payments between people (peer-to-peer in English) reaches 88% of Spanish banks, according to a survey by the Bank of Spain. This is mainly due to the fact that many entities participate in the payment solution of the Spanish bank, Bizum, which closed 2020 with 13.6 million users (more than double the number it had at the end of the previous year), with a growth rate of 20,100 daily registrations, as reported by the same company.
- Biometrics
In the immediate future, the incorporation of methods related to biometrics, such as fingerprints, facial recognition, retinal scanning or voice recognition, seems imminent. The recent application of the European Payment Services Directive or PSD2, which obliges businesses to apply strong customer authentication (SCA) in electronic payments, is a clear trigger for this new technology.
All these alternative payment methods have had a significant influence on the tourism sector, and day by day they become the method par excellence for tourists, that is why the hosts must bet on the implementation of these new technologies that will undoubtedly help to the positioning of your accommodation in front of others.
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