Suggesting that the COVID reshaped the future of businesses would be too obvious. However, the transformations that the pandemic has ignited are unavoidable as they vehemently push the society deeper into the digitized world.

The technological advancements that consumers were expected to adopt in 5 years have been embraced in mere months. Shoppers have gone from roaming aisles to website navigation by necessity. Newer consumer groups adopting e-commerce mobile app development in Dubai and digital methods of payment can be seen at a much faster pace than anyone ever thought possible. It is important to remember that these new consumer behaviors are taking root and that long after the pandemic, they will become permanent preferences.

As the use of digital payments spikes, there's unparalleled urgency for retailers to be proactive. Offering preferred modes of payment practically opens a whole universe of possibilities. The retailers seeing rapid growth are promising to serve a global audience who have customized and localized their payments.

By the end of 2020, nearly all of the SMBs surveyed in the UAE (97 percent, compared to the global average of 83 percent) had incorporated new types of digital technology to meet changing customer behaviors, according to the Visa’s global research report. Looking ahead to 2021, SMBs are determining what other payment solutions are essential to meeting customer needs today.

Online Payments Are in For A Long Haul:

There are no signs of slowing down in the global increase of contactless payment in 2020 that was spurred by obstacles, including customers searching for safer ways to pay in the midst of the pandemic. In reality, 44 percent of UAE SMBs offered contactless payment for the first time in June 2020, the same percentage (44 percent) claim they do it more frequently, and 73 percent of those expect to continue doing it over the next three months. About four out of five (86 percent, compared to 74 percent worldwide, the majority of all surveyed markets) SMBs expect customers to continue to prefer contactless payments even after a vaccine is widely available.

SMBs Expanding Their Reach:

SMBs have been gradually growing their attempts to meet customers where they are now: online. In the UAE, 97% of SMB owners have revised their operations over the past three months to meet these latest digital payment criteria, up from 94% when the first Visa Back to Business Report was released in summer 2020.

Impending Need of Secure Payment Systems:

94% SMBs in the UAE are the second most likely of all markets surveyed to have faced consumer concerns about fraud over their current use of technology (compared to 70% globally), posing an obstacle to sustaining positive interaction with their customers. It will continue to be important in 2021 to understand the significance of and respond to a possible fraud attack as the transition to digital sales continues to increase.

The popularity of e-commerce sites is growing as a natural consequence of the rising investment in online shopping. This high demand for digital sales portals has directly caused digital payments to rise. There is a competition between e-commerce sites to provide consumers with the best service, such as providing large-scale product selection, same-day delivery, in-house maintenance and payment. The interest in such channels grows as the service gets better, and ultimately the number of digital payments increases accordingly.

A major barrier to improving digital sales is the selection of non-cash payment methods. According to the data, in the Middle East, just 1.8 percent of all retail sales operation is on digital platforms; but there is also the reality that customers are becoming more and more digitally savvy. Therefore, it is easier for online sales sites to invest in ways in which they can give their customers better and more diverse online payment solutions. Consumers are likely to use non-cash payment solutions more if they ensure a safe and user-friendly online shopping experience.

If it seems that the popularity of digital payment options continues to rise, there will be an increase in demand from businesses and consumers to adopt them. At this point, the infrastructure gains great importance in order to provide a fast and efficient payment procedure. By having the assistance of a technical supplier who can mitigate the risks and provide a more stable transfer, onboarding to real-time payment systems can be made simpler.

In such an environment of ever-changing digital payment systems, enabling sustainable protection for financial institutions is becoming a challenge. Therefore, procedures such as KYC (Know Your Customer) are essential for digital payments to recognize customers and test their profiles for compatibility to avoid any fraudulent transactions on time.

Holding payment networks currently installed for financial institutions is no longer a successful option for adapting new payment technologies while being compliant and quick enough to go on the market. Silicon Graphics intends to build sound ecommerce development in Dubai systems that streamline digital payments to increase the operational efficiencies of businesses.