2021 Financial Services Trends: Contactless Technology & Passwordless Payments | GBAF

2021 Financial Services Trends: Contactless Technology & Passwordless Payments | GBAF

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Home > Banking > The Impact of the Digital Economy on the Banking and Payments Sector

The Impact of the Digital Economy on the Banking and Payments Sector

Published by linker 5

Posted on January 14, 2021

4 min read

Last updated: January 21, 2026

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By Gerhard Oosthuizen, CTO Entersekt.

New banking regulations, digital consumers, the eradication of passwords, contactless technology – these are just some of the trends that will shape financial services and payments in 2021, writes Entersekt CTO, Gerhard Oosthuizen.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, traditional businesses have been compelled to further undergo the digital transformation to meet the needs of a consumer base largely confined to their homes. Indeed, we estimate that there has been a 30% growth in the digital space. With this acceleration towards a digital world, banking, transacting and payment trends have and will continue to be redefined into 2021.

We have witnessed a rising number of digital first timers. That is, people signing up for online banking and e-commerce, whilst progressively shifting away from traditional channels. Businesses that have previously depended on walk-in stores and having a physical presence have also had to recognise that online transactions are now the new norm, and to adjust accordingly.

Whereas in the past, registering a customer for a service could take place in a shop, a booth or a branch, today it has become more important than ever to have a remote digital registration option available as well. Even working behaviour has changed considerably, with many businesses accommodating for remote working in the long term.

This is what sets the scene for 2021 – people expect to work from home as well as carry out their transactions from home.

Banking and Payment Trends in 2021

The use of contactless technology is undeniably growing, but on top of more people tapping with their cards, we are also seeing much more engagement with QR payments. A technology already frequently employed in Asia, we know QR codes can work. It would enable consumers to authenticate themselves when making a transaction without needing a PIN pad. More importantly, it allows consumers to gain complete control of their transactions from their own device and have an overall richer experience. Recognising this, we anticipate noteworthy developments in QR and NFC-enabled tap and go payments over the next year.

In light of FIDO (Fast Identity Online) and the ever-expanding network of FIDO-compliant solutions, we also expect the emergence of entirely passwordless systems. Organisations will likely begin enlisting customers by way of biometric authentication through devices and digital identities that already exist, such as banking apps. Long gone will be the days of having to remember numerous passwords, only to forget and reset them again. That is the idea anyway.

In 2021, there will probably be a pronounced adoption of delegated authentication as well, whereby

Gerhard Oosthuizen

Gerhard Oosthuizen

merchants as opposed to traditional issuing banks will take the reins of authenticating e-commerce payments. In this way, consumers will be offered a greatly improved online shopping experience with a simple and intuitive checkout that acts as an extension of the retail brand.

The Challenge of PSD2

While each of these transitions will undoubtedly introduce growing pains, PSD2 will be among the most challenging. Europe is already going through PSD2 now, implementing a number of regulations that is opening up competition in banking and electronic payment services. However, on the 1^st of January 2021, these regulations will take a legal effect. At the end of the first quarter, so too will another set of regulations concerning 3-D authentication of card-not-present payments. Europe is simply not prepared to make this leap into “open banking”. As such, banks will face a tough year of struggles with regulators and competition from non-traditional quarters.

In fact, the process towards becoming PSD2-compliant is often arduous for banks and recoups hardly any additional revenue. Many banks see it as a competitive disadvantage as they are being forced to open up their systems and processes for the likes of Google, Facebook, Apple and many smaller niche fintech operations. Their valuable client data risks being taken by a challenger and used to on-board their accountholders.

Regardless of the commercial opportunities that open banking may provide, fraudsters will also endeavour to take advantage of this change and the weaknesses that will appear as systems open. With money moving faster, the faster it can be stolen too. We will likely see some reaction to this in 2021 as fraud returns to being a top priority for banks. Yet, whether through regulatory pressure or by market forces, open banking will become the new normal – and the world needs to prepare for this. Hopefully, many lessons will be learned from Europe’s experiences in 2021.

Next year is going to be about change – and managing that change without alienating already unsettled consumers. Organisations that have customer experience top of mind will emerge as winners, but they must nonetheless expect additional pressure from regulators, new competition, ever more digitally-demanding consumers, and no slowdown in technological innovation.