5G spurs payment industry to innovate

FOR two decades now, the payments industry has unfailingly kept pace with innovations in telecommunications, spawning novel payment solutions with each new mobile revolution. This trend is set to continue today as 5G (the fifth generation mobile standard) pervades the world. Delivering significantly higher Internet speeds than previous mobile standards, 5G will spur the payments industry to innovate in two pivotal areas: the Internet of Things (IoT) and blockchain technology.

Underpinning this relationship between payments and telecommunications is the premise that every business model is a balance of three flow types: the flow of data, the flow of money, and the flow of goods. With the improvements in communication technology over the years, the flow of data has become more efficient, stimulating the other two flows to catch up. While this is engendering new business models in the commercial world, such as e-commerce and mobile wallets, it is also driving and reshaping the payments industry.

FROM 2G TO 5G