Heading into the new year, 2016 has opened new payment opportunities for consumers everywhere. If you like to shop, or simply like to keep your transactions a lot more anonymous, there are numerous options to suit even the most personal-information protective shopper. While many shoppers feel increasingly forced to hand over personal information and be victims of everything from identity fraud to marketing schemes, modern payment programs make it possible to operate a little more under the radar than in past years. Alternatively, other payment methods may prove to revolutionize old credit line models. To bring you up to date with the latest trends, here are a few payment options to check out in 2016.
Revolution Card
Perhaps one of the most flexible credit lines you could get your hands on, the Revolution card aims to reshape the credit landscape. While other cards charge merchants a 2 to 4-percent charge when customers use credit to make purchases, the Revolution card gives both the customer and the business they are buying from a huge break. The charge to the business owner on transactions comes in around .05-percent. Aside from being a simple credit card, the Revolution card makes it possible for people to easily send money to friends online for any reason.
Bill Me Later
For the consumer that always makes it a point to pay their bills on time, the Bill Me Later payment platform may prove to be another great option for 2016. For those who make regular payments, the Bill Me Later payment option removes the spending limit. This in turn gives consumers that would otherwise have a reduced spending capacity access to more online funding for purchasing high ticket items.
Mobile Payments
Even though online purchases are still going strong, this does not prevent less established retail stores from seeing the need to break into the mobile payment market. From giants such as Android Pay to lesser known solutions like Clip Tab App, people are adopting this simple & efficient solution and helping it grow each year into multi-billion dollar industry. With a swipe of the mighty smartphone, transactions are made with lightning speed. The modern trend of mobile payments has become more cemented in the retail landscape throughout 2015. This trend is continuing to build momentum with tech savvy shoppers on into the new year as well; however, don’t think that mobile payments only support money exchanges. According to MoneyCrashers, apps like Snip Snap also help modern retail shoppers to operate more intelligently and with increased organization in their couponing efforts.
Cryptocurrencies
While financial institutions and world governments thought cryptocurrencies were a passing phase in the available array of global payment options, the decentralized form of currency has perhaps proven to be more resilient than anyone ever expected. According to this article, corruption with the standard issue fiat monetary system has driven concerned people to buy into the financial security and diversity that cryptocurrencies represent. Nevermind that bitcoin interest and acceptance has rapidly grown at a steady rate over the last five years, conditions in other payment arenas continues to drive increased cryptocurrency growth heading into 2016. This outcome suggests that 2016 may actually become the year of bitcoin and its function as a stable, valid, decentralized payment option across the global markets.
So What is Out?
On the way out the door is what remains of the swipe and sign credit cards. With newer chip and pin cards being phased in, the aim of this migration intends to significantly limit the amount of credit card fraud that occurs in the United States markets. With each step forward, it appears that we are even getting closer to the point of eliminating the need to use cash in our everyday transactions. While the cashless society model of payments may be near, it is doubtful that such a point will be reached by the end of 2016.
Conclusion
While payment options abound in 2016, many of the emerging payment technologies that have been changing the retail and online payment landscape have started to make their presence felt. There is no doubt that tech savvy consumers appreciate the increased payment flexibility they have come to enjoy over the last few years. With even more changes in the payment landscape on the horizon, 2016 will certainly prove to be a landmark year in testing the continued viability of many of these payment methods.
