The hands-off payment process emblemized by Uber, DoorDash, Amazon Go and other popular services has become something of a holy grail for merchants. Results of a new study confirm that consumers crave the convenience of payments invisibly embedded in the user experience. According to a white paper from Paysafe that details the results, 75 percent of consumers will use apps with embedded payments if they become more widely available.
It’s just that they’re not sure what embedded payments actually are.
Despite the popularity of the services listed above, nearly half of those polled (49 percent) have never heard of “embedded payments,” and another 23 percent have heard the term but don’t know what it means.
“Consumers know when they’ve had a substandard experience. They know when there’s friction. With embedded finance, the payment aspect becomes so seamless that the consumer doesn’t need to expend any of the usual effort of locating their wallet or purse, entering card details or organizing a transfer,” explained Megan Oxman, senior vice president of New Product Development for Paysafe's Digital Wallets. “ To a certain extent the mark of a truly successful embedded payments transaction is for it to be so seamless that it’s entirely unnoteworthy. That said, broadening consumers’ knowledge around embedded payments and their benefits is no bad thing—particularly when it comes to addressing any lingering misconceptions.”
Misconceptions exist mainly around security and trust, the report said. Forty-four percent of consumers said that security is the most important factor when choosing how to pay for an online purchase but only 27 percent think embedded payments are more secure than traditional payments. And 59 percent worry they could be charged the wrong amount when using them.
