Seamlessness is a universal preference, but friction-filled obstacles tend to find their way into all kinds of transactions. Whether the resistance is caused by meddling hackers or slow legacy systems, the job of modern FinTech is to clear the roadblocks to keep the commerce traffic flowing.
This week felt a bit like the hacking Olympics, with Panera, Saks Fifth Avenue and Sears as just a small sample of the retailers who reported data kerfuffles. Hacks are a productivity drain — and a killer of consumer spending — but they aren’t alone. Fighting for modern service out of legacy systems is another, particularly in banking, and there’s always the wide world of fees with which to contend. Luckily for payments, new friction-fighters are popping up every day to smooth the journey.
