REMEMBER the days when people used to make cash payments everywhere? A time before making payments digitally was even an option.
That era seems almost hard to imagine, considering the number of digital payment solutions that people are using on a daily basis now, since the concept has been discussed about for the past decade or so.
According to Enterpryze CEO Morgan Browne, the heavy usage of digital payments among businesses and its customers was fast-forwarded by the COVID-19 global pandemic, snowballing its adoption rate.
“It was definitely going to happen anyway, but with a pandemic like COVID-19 (where physical distance is crucial), it only accelerated digital payment capabilities even more. And because of it, we are well beyond going back (to the way it was),” Browne explained to FocusM in an exclusive interview.
Take the year 2019 for example, a year before COVID-19 shook the world. Back then, people still mainly dealt with cash transactions. Digital payments were mostly used by tech-savvy businesses and individuals and was not as popular as it is now.
“There were several digital payment solutions deployed in some countries, including Malaysia, but most of them were still in its infancy,” Browne said.
“Cash payments are insecure when it comes to business-to-business (B2B) purchases and it is a lot to deal with on an administrative standpoint,” he added.
Today, there are many ways to make payments digitally, from normal credit cards transactions to e-wallets and QR code payments.
For Browne, of all the digital payment solutions available, the QR code payment method is the most suitable for businesses, especially the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as it is secure, ensures fast payments and cost-effective.
Using Enterpryze’s own innovation as an example, the mCollect X solution allow businesses to share its unique QR codes with each other as images and enables immediate notification of successful transactions, all at an affordable digital rate.
Despite that, Browne said that QR code payments still have a long way to go to be as seamless as credit card payments. But he revealed that SMEs are now looking into other means of transacting and the trend is seen to continue in the near future.
Right choice
As we delve about digital payment transactions, it is worthwhile noticing that most of the domestic SMEs and perhaps big corporations are still relying very much on manual labour. This is still far below the Industry 3.0 level.
“It can be called Industry 4.0 when companies adopt full-fledged integration of end-market demand with big-data analysis, cloud-computing storage and AI precision marketing, leading to robotic custom-made production, packaging and logistics,” envisages Malaysian representative of APEC SME Forum Neil Foo.
In an audit that he mooted in a February 2019 opinion editorial in FocusM, Foo described Industry 3.0 as “Fully Computerised + Fully Automated Manufacturing System” while Industry 4.0 is made up of “Big Data + Artificial Intelligence (AI) Deep Learning + Fully Computerised + Full Automation with Robotic Manufacturing System”.
Based on Foo’s account – assuming that Malaysian SMEs are in the transition stage between Industry 3.0 and Industry 4.0 – then it makes valid sense that the preferred payment solution that SMEs would look forward to are solutions that allow B2B transactions directly from the accounts that are linked with the bank.
“It will be like PayPal, but it’s more towards B2B, and the balance amount in the account is the same with the company’s bank accounts,” Browne explained, saying that those types of payment solutions will be more sought after by SMEs.
This method can also be implemented via QR code payments, where businesses can print the company’s QR codes on certain documents to enable easy access to seamless transactions, which is a method that could even be adopted by cross shipment companies.
Considering all the potential of payment solutions in the future, Browne said: “We’re about to see less challenges in cross border payments soon.”
When it comes to the retail industry, even some of the retailers reluctant to adopt digital payment solutions tend to opt for QR code payments as its first step into the digital scene.
Browne stressed that regardless of the industry, the concept of having digital payments as an option for customers to use to make transactions with is a need for any business.
“Digital payments are need-based. Even if you don’t make digital payments as the main method of transaction, you would still need to have the option available for your customers who are more comfortable in using digital payment solutions,” he concluded.
