PAYMENT SOLUTIONS
“ It ’ s critical not to rely on one part of the business that might be doing well today – as this might not be the case tomorrow ”
AHMED KARSLI , CO-FOUNDER AND CHAIRMAN , PAPARA
Following a brief slowdown during the pandemic , customers are back to switching current accounts at normal levels , Forrester ’ s Principal Analyst Aurelie L ' Hostis says . Data from the UK ’ s Financial Conduct Authority ( FCA ) shows that 8 % of the country ’ s current accounts are currently held with digital challenger banks – up from just 1 % five years ago .
Mobile payments trend underscores banking revolution The popularity of mobile banking is being driven by an increase in mobile payments , with consumers now able to check out using their smartphone or watch . Research from fintech unicorn Rapyd shows that nearly half ( 43 %) of Brits make mobile purchases on a weekly basis , underscoring the rising popularity of e-wallets . What ’ s more , UK mobile commerce is set to reach £ 100mn by 2024 as consumer preferences shift .
Sarel Tal , VP EMEA at Rapyd , says : “ With consumers having to go cashless at the height of the pandemic , many realised how convenient mobile phone payments are and have since kept this habit up . We expect this trend to accelerate , with UK mobile commerce predicted to grow at more than twice the rate of the overall ecommerce sector .”
Banks must accelerate product development and innovation within their mobile apps in order to satisfy changing consumer habits , and remain competitive with fintech challengers and digital banks . We have seen a new wave of mobile apps that incorporate consumer-friendly features like personal budgeting , financial targets , foreign currency exchange , investing tools and simpler peer-to-peer payments .
Ahmed Karsli , Co-Founder and Chairman of Turkey ’ s largest neobank , Papara , says that banks must continue to diversify their