Community banks could put more contactless cards into the hands of consumers with the help of the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA). At the same time, gig economy workers don’t want to wait for funds or spend additional time moving money from one account to another. And the demand for faster payments is strong in the U.S., yet not all financial players agree on how to implement them. In addition, retailers are tapping into augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technology as consumers adopt these emerging technologies. All this, Today In Data.
Data:
$255B: The value of faster payments in the United States at the end of 2018.
3,000 percent: The projected increase in revenues from VR software over the next four years.
70 percent: The approximate share of U.S. merchants equipped to accept contactless payments at the point of sale.
35.9 percent: The share of workers who participate in the gig economy.
7.3 million: The minimum number of payment cards that ICBA Bancard’s community bank customers have issued.