The fintech and financial services markets are far beyond simply digitizing the payment processes we used to track on paper 20 years ago. The payments industry has evolved into this new idea of “fintech 2.0”; an idea that is all about reimagining new ways to deliver financial services and what that means for consumers. The future of payments and the notion of embedding frictionless payment experiences into everyday applications are the main themes surrounding this year’s Canadian Fintech 2.0 Summit in Toronto. So, what does the future hold?
Paystone CEO, Tarique Al-Ansari, sat on this year’s Payments Panel alongside Stephen Ulford from Trulioo, Derek Colfer from Visa Canada, Robert Bast from WayPay, and Kashmera Self from Interac. Moderator, Kristy Duncan from Women in Payments steered the discussion around how the panelists’ different ideas are driving innovation in this ever expanding fintech space. Ultimately, they all shared a desire to reimagine the entire customer experience and trying to make it as seamless as possible, while understanding that these innovations must be based in trust, privacy, confidentiality, and security. Without these attributes, consumers won’t embrace new ways of transacting payments.
New players to the Canadian market will bring new perspectives, and new ways to improve the customer experience. For example, Amazon's business model used to revolve around ordering products online. Then came Amazon Prime with quicker shipping and their one button ordering system. Now, in the near future, Amazon Pay is unleashing payment capabilities to their virtual assistant, Alexa, which could create entirely new customer experiences. “Hey Alexa, can you order my favourite Thai food from our favourite Thai restaurant, and have it delivered here please?” They’re not only developing easier ways to pay, but reimagining the entire online shopping experience.
Al-Ansari took the time to share his views on how Uber has changed the customer payment experience in a whole new way and how it inspired the Givepoint donation experience. When Uber started, it was an easier way to get a taxi, but since then, it’s become a holistic system tracking a user’s history of trips, their trip receipts, and everything in between.
“If you’re in downtown Toronto, especially outside of rush hours,” explained Al-Ansari, “it’s easier to grab a taxi than an Uber. But, I know people who are hooked on Uber, and they’ll wait for an Uber. And that’s because they’ve built a platform beyond seamless payment processing. With Uber, you don’t have to worry about cash, or pulling out your credit card at the end of the trip. You simply walk out. And you get an invoice at the end of the year that goes to your bookkeeper and shows all your trips. They’ve built a holistic app where people would rather wait, than to grab a taxi driving by - a taxi in arm’s reach - just to get the Uber experience.”
Paystone built Givepoint in 2017 to digitize donations via a self-serve donation kiosk. Now, in 2018, our full Givepoint donation platform - for online and offline - helps charities automate and issue tax receipts, manage their campaigns, and gain trust and credibility with their donors. “We have charities calling and emailing, saying they’re never going to collect donations using anything except Givepoint because of its holistic ecosystem. At the end of the year and at the end of tax season, our donors are guaranteed to get their tax receipt,” shared Tarique. “It’s reliable, whereas if they donate with cash or cheque, there’s a lack of trust when they’re chasing the volunteer, or committee, or accountant at the church or mosque saying, ‘Hey! Where’s my tax receipt?’ ‘Oh, you missed my cheque the other day.’”
With Givepoint, it’s not just about the donation, but the whole user experience throughout the entire donor journey. Paystone has developed Givepoint to be a platform that connects and engages donors and makes the lives and operations of charities, simpler.
For more information on Paystone:
Please visit https://www.Paystone.com/
For more information on the Givepoint Donation Platform:
Please visit https://www.paystone.com/fundraising
For more information on Canadian Fintech 2.0 Summit:
Please visit https://www.bdc.ca/en/fintech/pages/default.aspx
