NEWSLETTER 001 - Jan 2025

Welcome to 2025 – The Year where it ALL changes, for you.

It’s an interesting time for money—everyone still wants it, but no one wants to carry it around anymore. Digital payment processing is evolving quickly and changing how we interact with money—pretty soon the only cash we’ll come into contact with will be a 20-dollar bill in a birthday card from grandma. For the first time in history, money has abandonment issues. So let’s take a look at what’s happening in the payment processing world and what the future holds for it. We’ll break each of these down in the coming editions and talk about the pros AND the cons of each of them. For now, just accept that a LOT of things are changing, so, let’s begin the journey.

AI-Powered Payments

AI is making huge waves in the payment industry, automating processes and improving fraud detection. These systems can analyze transaction data in real time, spot patterns, and prevent fraud before it even starts. Whether you’re processing a handful of transactions or thousands, AI is helping to minimize risk while boosting efficiency. It’s like having a 24/7 security guard at the checkout who never sleeps and has a seemingly psychic ability to spot a cheat.

Blockchain: It’s not just for crypto anymore

There are few words in the English language that inspire confusion as quickly as the word “Blockchain”. While the technical ins and outs of the technology may be hard to grasp (zero knowledge proofs, etc.), the decentralized nature of blockchains is changing the payment sector dramatically. The smart contracts that operate on blockchains are eliminating the need for 3rd parties, making payments a lot safer and cheaper. With blockchains essentially being ledgers that everyone has a copy of, they make it super easy to track payments and verify identities—delivering more efficient peer-to-peer payments than ever before.

Mobile payments

Mobile payment solutions like Apple Pay and Google Pay have made fumbling through your wallet at checkout a thing of the past. Consumers can tap, pay, and go—no card required. For both businesses and consumers, this means faster and smoother transactions. If your business is still not offering mobile payments, you're leaving money on the table.

The BNPL boom 

The “Buy Now, Pay Later” (BNPL) trend continues to grow. Consumers can split payments into manageable chunks (without interest), which is a big win for them. According to recent studies, BNPL adoption is soaring among Gen Z shoppers, who are going to end up being the bulk of your future customers, one way or another. If you're not already offering BNPL, you may be missing out on major sales growth. While BNPL may come with transaction fees, the increased conversion rates should easily offset the costs.

What’s the bottom line? 

The payment world is changing fast and you need to change with it. It wasn’t that long ago that credit and debit cards felt like a new thing—and they took over the planet. Whether you like it or not, cards are on their way out—along with grandma’s 20-dollar bill—and your business needs to prepare itself now for the payment system of tomorrow.

If you need guidance through it all, remember: I’m here to help you get the best VALUE, not just the best price.

Stay smart, stay ahead, 

Joe Zahaitis 

Old Payment Processing Guy

Tell your community about this Newsletter

Card / Digital Payments are changing - just when you thought it was safe to go in the water, a ton of new stuff comes along and "disrupts" all that we know.

Let's start our 2025 Journey with a peak of what's to come and what we'll be focusing on as we move into 2025.

There are bumpy roads ahead to be sure, but we’ll navigate them together, and with resounding success along the way.

Welcome to the path, “this is the way”. (ugh, there he goes again with an obscure reference)

Have an AWESOME WEEK!!!