Who wants to go out in public and touch a bunch of stuff?
Not me. Not you. Not anybody with even a dollop of self preservation.
One of the few benefits of the Covid-19 pandemic has been that businesses in the U.S. are finally having to confront the fact that our systems for buying things have been lagging behind the rest of the world—specifically in terms of contactless payment.
While tap-to-pay and other frictionless payment methods are common and often even the norm overseas, U.S. retailers have often stuck with swiping, inserting, PIN typing and just generally making the whole process unnecessarily physical.
Luckily, thanks to a combination of rapid cultural priority shifts during the pandemic and the American business community finally getting on board with contactless payment, we seem to be at a turning point.
At Adweek's NexTech event last week, I sat down with Visa's vp of connected commerce, Bisi Boyle, to discuss this near future—and what lies beyond. We talked about the obstacles and the opportunities of today, along with her vision for a future where wallets and phones become unnecessary due to the abundance of contactless ways to pay in a connected world.
Be sure to check out our conversation, whether you work in the commerce/ retail spaces or just want to know when America is going to get with the program and make buying things a lot smoother.
David Griner
Creative and Innovation Editor, Adweek
David.Griner@Adweek.com
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