Ring Out, Wild Thoughts

The PYMNTS Christmas poem
(with heavy assistance from Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s “Ring Out, Wild Bells”)

Ring out, wild thoughts, to a decade new,
Innovation shining bright.
This decade’s dying in the night;
Let it go, let new ways to pay through.
Ring out the checks, whenever they’re sent,
Slow and old and out of date.
Ring out the payments on which you wait,
Ring in the new, an instant payment.

Ring out waiting in a line,
Checking your watch at the POS.
Ring in the age of checkout cashierless;
Ring in getting back more time.

Ring out just changing a form factor,
Though consumers like using cards to pay;
Ring in real changes, ring in new ways
To make digital payments relevant to all actors.

Ring out the fraudsters, ring out hackers
And rules-based systems lying broken.
Ring in AI, biometrics and the use of data tokens
To better repel those armies of attackers.

Ring out can’t, ring out impossible;
Quantum computing is now on the table.
Ring in the new ideas that will enable
Making payment capabilities ready, willing and newly actionable.

Ring out the fight between FIs and FinTech.
That forces customer choice.
Ring in hearing the customer voice;
Ring in letting them choose what works best.

Ring out now the 2010s,
A decade that changed how we pay and buy.
Now it’s time to let it die,
So the 2020s can begin.

Ring in what’s new,
Ring in what’s next,
Though we don’t know quite what to expect;
We’ll be here to guide you through.

Happy Holidays from your friends at PYMNTS!