Alacriti: A Bright Future For Payments

Manish Gurukula, CEO of Alacriti, believes the effects of COVID-19 on his industry, including an increase in blended experiences like BOPIS, haven’t been all bad. “The behavioral changes that were necessitated by the global pandemic will have lasting impacts on the payments space, and in a positive way,” he says in “A Look Forward: What Executives Wish for America and the World in 2021.”

A common refrain from many people is: “I can’t wait for this year to end!” Looking back, there were plenty of reasons to impatiently wish for 2020 to end and rush into 2021. However, I am thankful for being in the payments space, which was a bright spot in many ways in an otherwise dreadful year. The behavioral changes that were necessitated by the global pandemic will have lasting impacts on the payments space, and in a positive way.

The rapid spike in the adoption of contactless payments was driven by businesses looking to reopen and serve customers safely without putting them at risk. This concern for lowering the risk for shoppers shifted into an increase in blended experiences like buy online, pick up in person. The continuing adoption of online shopping has also grown the market for buy now, pay later (BNPL) options, which many see as a flexible option for consumers during the difficult times many are facing today. These are all positive evolutions, even in the worst months of 2020. Arguably the greatest evolution has been with real-time payments.

The Clearing House’s RTP® network is moving closer to its goal of ubiquity with their announcement in September that financial institutions that hold 70 percent of demand deposit accounts have access to real-time payment capabilities via FinTechs connected to the network. Also, Nacha’s upcoming expansion of Same Day ACH — expanding their availability by two hours — will mean that more accelerated payments will enter the ecosystem in 2021. Consumer demand for faster payments is also increasing.

A recent survey that PYMNTS conducted showed that 30 percent of consumers consider access to real-time payments a key factor when selecting a financial institution. That shouldn’t be a surprise as the benefits to consumers are significant: immediate payroll, immediate payments for workers in the gig economy, instant payouts for insurance claims, etc. The U.S. has been behind much of the world in real-time payments adoption, so I’m happy to see us catching up.

My hope is that businesses have a 2021 New Year resolution to further lean into these changes that started to accelerate in 2020 and make them new standards for consumer experiences. As the world moves back into “normal times,” we should continue to build on those innovations — with a focus on making the payment seamless and instant in those experiences.