JPMorgan Chase continues to expand on their new theme that “Payments are Eating the World,” announced at the recent Money 20/20 conference last month. Jeremy Balkin, formerly Chief Innovation Officer at HSBC, joined the J.P. Morgan team earlier this year to focus on payments innovation. The global bank is doubling down on its investments in the payments space, and giving an inch of the payments landscape to fintech challengers. While banks have always focused on safeguarding our money, the ability to send and receive money around the globe is the core of commerce today. The pandemic has contributed to the acceleration of our transition from a physical economy to a virtual economy.
“Banks that can do both banking and payments will likely be most relevant in the new economy,” says Balkin.
J.P. Morgan Payments recently announced their acquisition of a 75% stake in Volkswagen Payments, as one of 19 total fintech investments that the bank has made this year. Mercator recently reported on the growing commerce opportunities within connected and autonomous vehicles, and Juniper recently sized the market at $4.7 billion by 2026. Along with the growth of social commerce, beginning every value exchange with a payment is driving what Mercator has called the paradox of payments: increasing awareness of payments is driving the need to make them more seamless and invisible.
Balkin continues, “Looking into the future, imagine a payment experience where the consumer doesn’t need cash, card or a phone to make a payment. Imagine integrating biometric data so facial recognition could authenticate a payment. Imagine how much more efficient your physical experience would be at a restaurant or lining up at a Starbucks. These technologies all exist today.”
Overview by Don Apgar, Director, Merchant Services Advisory Practice at Mercator Advisory Group
