Commerce and Fintech 2021 Outlook

In 2020, commerce, fintech and banking faced upheaval and uncertainty. 2021 is shaping up to be another disruptive year.

Will travel take off after pent-up demand? Will concerts and theme parks rebound? While it's a difficult year to predict, several trends for commerce, fintech and banking are taking shape. Our recent annual webinar highlighted the outlook for the coming year.

A number of trends stand out in the retail space, including an increase in membership programs, livestream shopping and personalization of the consumer experience. Many merchants are expanding and adapting their physical spaces and online presence to accommodate new omnichannel formats, from "buy online, pick up in store" to restaurants built only for food delivery – a derivative of the "cloud kitchen" phenomenon.

Evolving payment preferences will be at the forefront in 2021, including growth in point-of-sale financing and other buy-now-pay-later solutions, digital business-to-business payments and faster access to payroll earnings.

Our outlook for banking includes the continued shift to digital and consumers' growing demand for immediacy, transparency and control. As companies such as Amazon and Google move into financial services, banking-as-a-service platforms are enabling fintechs and other third parties to integrate with banking systems and create and distribute financial products.

Watch our annual webinar to learn more about trends we expect to resonate in 2021.