This past year we watched the payments industry transform at a rapid rate. Here are our predictions for payment trends in 2018, according to Aliant CEO Eric Brown.

1. Same day ACH processing. Aliant?s eCheck Automated Clearing House (ACH) payment processing services allow our merchants to accept electronic check payments, increase sales and reduce the costs associated with paper check processing. While these payments currently take 48 to 72 hours to process, we expect same day ACH processing to be a reality in 2018.

2. Increased biometric security when authorizing card-not-present transactions. In an earlier blog post we covered the risks of card not present (CNP) transactions. Biometrics technology has become an increasingly affordable and accessible way to combat fraud in the past year, and we expect it to become the norm in the payments industry in 2018. This technology includes facial recognition, digital fingerprinting, eye recognition, voice recognition, etc.

3. Cryptocurrencies like Etherium, Bitcoin, Ripple, will be used as payment methods in more transactions. Here at Aliant, we?re looking to the future of blockchain and digital currency, and we?re excited to be one of the first payment processors to offer a Bitcoin solution to our clients.

Unless you?ve been living under a rock, you know that Bitcoin is hot, hot, hot right now. With thousands of companies already accepting digital currency payments and that number rapidly growing, business owners are turning to cryptocurrency payments to enjoy benefits including lower transaction fees, easier global payments, and less chargeback fraud and identity theft. If you?d like to be one of the first merchants in your industry to accept Bitcoin payments, click here to learn more and talk to us today!

4. Peer-to-peer payments will increase. The big question is, which app will be the dominant player at the end of 2018? Will it be Venmo, PayPal, Square, or someone else?

5. China union payments will come to the U.S. In October 2017, Alipay, a leading digital payment platform, announced a partnership with Poynt, the maker of the world?s first smart terminal, to enable Alipay?s more than 520 million registered users in China and beyond to pay with Alipay across all Poynt devices in North America. Through this agreement, Alipay users can enjoy seamless, familiar checkout experiences with the payment method of their choice while visiting North America.

What do you think will rock the payments world in 2018? Tell us in a comment!