By Kamran Hedjri, Group CEO, PXP Financial
ICE 2023 is almost upon us and we’re excited to share the floor with gaming professionals and industry innovators. But we’re not just there to mingle – we’ll be sharing our payments expertise to help gaming operators grow their customer base, increase revenue and streamline their business.
Specifically, we’ll be talking about some of the need-to-know the payment trends that will shape the gaming industry in 2023…
Put your wallet away
They’re a staple last-minute gift, and you may have received a lovely new cash-carrier in December, but one in five Brits don’t expect to carry a physical wallet or purse at all in the next five years.
Last year saw a surge in digital wallet adoption, driven by the increasing number of options available, such as Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay, as well as regional offerings.
This trend will continue in 2023, with estimates suggesting 1.6 billion global consumers will pay with digital wallets at the point of sale (POS) this year. That’s 30% of POS payments.
And it’s not a trend that’s restricted to in-person payments. For online shopping, 38% of consumers globally say a digital wallet is their preferred payment method. Thanks to the convenience, flexibility, and security digital wallets offer, you can expect them to become the standard for all types of payments very soon.
Bad news for anyone stuck for gift ideas this year, but it’s good news for gamers. Major industry organizations, casinos and technologists have increasingly rallied around digital wallet technology to anchor the customer gaming experience.
This year, gaming companies will continue to embrace and develop digital wallet technology, so if you haven’t already, look at modifying slot machines and service kiosks to accommodate QR codes and tokenized wallet transactions.
A new POS Strategy
This growing expectation that digital wallets will be accepted everywhere will naturally impact the traditional point-of-sale.
Until recently, bricks and mortar gaming facilities have been a stronghold for paper cash, coins and ATM lines. But casinos and other gaming establishments are now accelerating their push towards accepting digital payments.
But they need to go a step further and understand the full potential of a modern POS system, which can do so much more than just allow you to accept and process payments. It can help you run your operation with ease through real-time reporting, employee and inventory management, and more.
The right POS system also provides seamless operational capabilities that don’t interrupt the player experience in any way, and combine point-of-sale functionalities with specific casino software.
Mobile POS systems are increasingly popular among establishments looking to accommodate touchless payments, and the adoption of cloud-hosted POS solutions is likely to gain traction over the coming years.
Looking further ahead, as more and more players turn to online games to socialise and spend their free time, the online gaming industry has been buzzing with talk of the metaverse.
This is new territory for us all, but I can confidently say the metaverse will be a defining feature of online gaming in 2023 and beyond. The metaverse is still in its early stages, so there isn’t a single payment system that’s been widely adopted. However, moving forward payment systems will need to work with both fiat and cryptocurrencies.
The metaverse is fast approaching, with huge investments bringing it closer every day. In this brave new world, crypto will come into its own, having many advantages when it comes to buying and selling digital assets, and offering near-instant cross-border transactions at a fraction of the cost of current fiat-based payment systems.
Gaming businesses – whether they operate on or offline – need to be ready for this change.
The benefits of Open banking
Converting and retaining players is critical to long-term success, and building trust is a critical element. This is especially true when you’re taking payments.
Open Banking now has more than 6 million active users in the UK. It opens up access to financial data and direct-to-bank payments for gaming operators.
When making an online payment, the user is no longer redirected to an e-payment interface, such as a credit card payment gateway. Instead, when the player wants to fund their account, operators can execute direct payments as a trusted holder of login and transfer credentials that have been pre-authorised by the player.
By using open banking technology, operators can connect their app or website directly to a player’s bank account, access rich financial and identity data, and make direct payments to any account. They can also access account ownership data to use in the KYC process and analyse transaction history to weed out fraudsters.
All this means less friction for customers, and reduced complexity and cost for operators. It also gives operators a better understanding of spend in the context of a player’s broader financial situation. Using open banking, operators can analyse outgoings such as loan and rent payments to identify at-risk players, block gameplay or put spending caps in place. This kind of responsible gaming has never been more important.
Payment partners who play to win
The modernisation of payments is increasingly important across all industry sectors. As gaming operators, your customers are among the most tech-savvy in the world, and expect you to deliver fast, secure, easy, cashless payments.
The right partner can help you stay ahead of, and capitalise on, these trends. We work with several gaming companies worldwide, tailoring the perfect combination of global and local alternative payment options to make sure their customers can cash in any way they like.
Don’t underestimate the power of the right payment solution to help cut costs, drive revenue and increase player satisfaction. Get it wrong, and it’s game over.
About PXP Financial
PXP Financial is the global expert in acquiring and processing services to help businesses simplify and support their global payment needs. Whatever the requirements, PXP Financial can help build an unrivalled secure, frictionless commerce experience – all based on the latest technology, whether on-premise, online, mobile, in-app or mail/phone purchase.
To find out more visit https://www.pxpfinancial.com/
