NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Tuesday, October 3, 2017

The global payments landscape has significantly evolved over the past decade. The rapid rise and equally rapid evolution of online and mobile commerce has given rise to a wave of new payment methods. E-wallets, in-app purchasing, and peer-to-peer payments are all products of consumers’ increasing comfort with digital commerce. In many developed markets, older payment methods, such as checks and payment on delivery, are being replaced by alternatives that make online and mobile transactions frictionless, thus further feeding consumer appetites for online shopping.

By 2020, the digital portion of global retail sales is on pace to double from $1.9 trillion to $4 trillion, according to eMarketer. That’s not counting online sales of travel and tickets.

With the growth of international ecommerce platforms like Shopify and Magento and payment platforms like PayPal and Stripe, the barriers to ecommerce are crumbling, giving life to new businesses, opening up new revenue streams for established players, facilitating economic trade, and driving technology advancements worldwide.

Photo courtesy of Andrew Magill.