If there is any industry that has truly had a successful year, it’s the online payment industry. The digitization of payments, which has been gathering pace through the past decade, has absolutely skyrocketed in recent months. In virtually every market around the world, online payments have become the norm rather than the exception.
It seems like cash is well and truly on the way out, with digital payment platforms on the path to becoming trillion-dollar companies in their own right. But what platforms are the most popular and the fastest growing in 2021? Read on to find out.
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Skrill
London-based FinTech giant Skrill has rapidly risen through the ranks to become one of Europe’s top online payment services. This is owing to its strong reputation for security and the fact that users can seamlessly make payments in more than 40 currencies, without any fees.
Its security credentials are one of the main reasons why Skrill is a payment platform of choice in sectors such as the online casino industry, where lucky players will want a high level of security when transferring winnings. That’s why major real money gaming platforms such as Refuel Casino use Skrill as part of their online casino payment offerings, as they know that secure payment options are a top priority for their customers.
PayPal
With more than 220 million active monthly users and a near-total dominance of the North American market, PayPal is a force to be reckoned with. What’s more, the San Francisco-based company has seen profits triple in the past year, demonstrating that it has been well-positioned to take advantage of the digitization of banking. The app is probably one of the easiest to use around, while its burgeoning credit and loan services are transforming what it means to be an online payment app in 2021.
AliPay
This would not be a very comprehensive piece if we did not mention AliPay, which is probably the single most popular platform on the planet in terms of users. AliPay focuses mostly on the market in China, where it has close to one billion users. The app’s success comes from the fact that it is compatible with pretty much anything – all you need to do is stick a QR code on a product in order to instantly pay for it via the AliPay app. It doesn’t get much easier than that.
Square
Square is owned by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and has been aimed primarily at small business owners. All you need to do is install a Square “magstripe” at your store’s checkout to allow all customers to instantly make purchases by tapping their credit card. This has allowed millions of small business owners to access mainstream payments without having to meet strict requirements. As a result, Square’s popularity has surged in the past year, along with its valuation, which hit $100 billion recently.
These are the top online payment platforms that you need to know about. Whether one of these will emerge on top remains to be seen, as all have their merits. One thing that is certain is that the coming months will be among the most interesting that this industry has ever seen.
