Worldline Shaping the Future of Payments in the Metaverse and Beyond

The way we pay for things is on the cusp of a revolution. From the rise of the metaverse to the increasing power of blockchain, new technologies are reshaping the payments landscape. But how will these trends impact the future of money and transactions? In this exploration, we'll delve into these exciting advancements and discover how Worldline, a leading payments solutions company, is at the forefront of building a secure and efficient future for payments.

In an exclusive interview with Dataquest, Jagdish Kumar, Chief Technology Officer(CTO), India, Worldline shares insights on the future of payments within the metaverse, the integration of cutting-edge technologies, and the company's pioneering role in shaping the digital economy. From blockchain innovations to augmented reality applications, discover how Worldline is paving the way for a seamless and secure digital payment ecosystem.

How do you envision the metaverse changing the future of payments, and what role will Worldline play in this transformation?

Hailed as “the next chapter of the internet” by Mark Zuckerberg, the metaverse is no longer a distant concept today. It is redefining how we engage with digital spaces and just as in the real world, users can purchase assets in the virtual world and facilitating these transactions requires a swift payment system that is scalable to handle multitude of transactions simultaneously.

The metaverse is creating a need for swift, scalable payment systems to handle virtual world transactions. These will likely be digital and borderless, with cryptocurrencies and digital fiat currencies playing a key role. Worldline offers solutions for creating and managing digital currency systems and is working with central banks on digital currency initiatives. We will be critical in enabling users to convert their traditional currencies into formats usable in the metaverse.

What new technologies and use cases are being integrated into existing payment modes at Worldline?

Embedded systems and contactless payments are shaping up all around us today. Being an all-round payments company that supports in-store, online, in-app or subscription models, Worldline is constantly evolving its offering set to cater to a multitude of intersection points across the business channels and customer touchpoints of our merchants/clients. 

To quote some use-cases: i) Worldline today can support an end customer purchase journey starting from a physical store and concluding by payment within the confines of their homes using their smartphone or vice-versa. ii) Or consider a subscription or mandate-based business or product. Worldline can support a mandate assurance program transcending both the digital and physical worlds for on-boarding an end customer by our merchants and back it up with a transaction life-cycle management program with benchmarking of conversion rates with the best in the industry. This goes a long way to complement the existing payment product offering suite and drive value-based conversations with our clientele.

Can you elaborate on the innovative PoS and QR solutions like card-on-delivery, smartphone PoS, and dynamic QR that Worldline is developing?

We offer both dynamic and static QR code solutions for transactions. We also enable merchants to initiate payments through a web or mobile app and complete them on delivery using cards or UPI.

The Worldline ‘Tap on Mobile’ is an offering that can be used by merchant and their collection/sales agents to transform their smartphone into a fully functional POS device that can start accepting payments using UPI, UPI QR or cards using NFC. This can be leveraged by a plethora of merchants across instore or online sales channel.

Payment on delivery can be facilitated in a number of ways: i) Once order is confirmed, a payment link can be triggered to the customer from the merchant’s web/mobile application or also using the Worldline POS depending on the purchase happening online or instore. Customer can make a payment at the time of delivery using cards or any other preferred mode; ii) Worldline merchants can use the Auth and Capture flow where an authorization can be taken on the cards during order confirmation and the capturing the transaction from the same card at the time of delivery; iii) Worldline merchants can use the our Android POS or the Tap on Mobile product and use the same to collect payment at the time of delivery from the customer. Here again the mode of payment can be card or UPI.

How do the benefits of Web 3.0 translate into more efficient and cost-effective payment options, particularly in terms of data validation, accessibility, and scalability?

Blockchain based payment options bring the following benefits along: a) Provide clear ownership details of the digital asset/token with ability to verify the authenticity and history of ownership; b) Ease of monetization by the developers or content creators (in case of NFTs) as it can help reduce intermediaries; c) Security against fraud and counterfeiting. Once the ledger entry is done the ownership gets etched on records permanently; d) With regional boundaries and those imposed by the fiat currencies broken, the value becomes universal thereby helping to control the cost as well as improving the speed of transaction and payment realization.

What advantages does blockchain offer to the payment ecosystem, and how is Worldline implementing this technology to improve cross-border payments and security?

Blockchain allows businesses to scale internationally and acquire customers globally without needing regional acceptance setups or worrying about currency conversion costs. Worldline is actively pursuing certification for cross-border payments and is working on integrating Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) as a secure and efficient cross-border payment option.

How can 5G, 6G, and IoT be leveraged to enhance payment processes and customer service in the industry?

These technologies will significantly improve processing speed and capacity, enabling faster transactions. Additionally, enhanced network security will minimize fraud. With IoT, contactless payments will become even more widespread, with payments possible using various connected devices. This will necessitate advancements in customer service to keep pace with the speed of transactions. Data-driven automation can personalize the customer experience through better user data analysis.

What potential do you see for integrating augmented and virtual reality into fintech, and how might these technologies impact the payments landscape?

Fintech or payment companies can leverage Augmented or virtual reality to build experience centres where prospective clients can have an immersive interaction with the various applications and flows thereby creating a compelling value proposition that becomes more tangible in nature. 

The use-cases can further cover self on-boarding of new clients and enabling existing clients on self-service models for query resolution and FAQs.

These technologies can also be used for driving innovation within the new product ideation and development process and function as a visual aid/tool to help validate the benefits and establish grounds for creating and challenging hypothesis.

Can you discuss any specific challenges faced in implementing these advanced technologies and how Worldline addresses them?

Challenges include the volatility of cryptocurrencies and the potential cost of 6G/IoT infrastructure. Worldline focuses on CBDCs for a more stable metaverse payment system and utilizes 6G/IoT capabilities selectively for specific programs based on industry needs.

How does Worldline's comprehensive coverage of the payment value chain benefit its merchant partners and customers in India and beyond?

We cover the length and breadth of payment services and capabilities across modes, channels, one-time/recurring, domestic or cross-border. This helps our merchants/partners to look at us as a one-stop-shop to fulfil all their payment related requirements and focus energies on building their own products and growth strategy. In other words, all payment collection/disbursal related compliances and capabilities can be safely outsourced to Worldline as a single omnipresent partner across the globe by our merchants.

What future innovations can we expect from Worldline in the realm of digital payments, and how will these innovations drive further adoption and efficiency?

We are focusing on:

• Omnichannel payment capabilities: Integrating in-store and online features for a seamless customer experience across all touchpoints.
• Personalized payment experiences: Using customer data to create personalized payment workflows and offers for a more engaging customer journey.