Your Desktop Reference for Months to Come

Here it is August, and the world is still reckoning with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Indeed, the world will be at that grim task for many months to come, we fear, until researchers develop, test, and mass-produce an effective vaccine.

In the meantime, the business of payments goes on, as it must. And that’s where this annual Buyers Guide comes in. We’ve devoted the entire August issue to the Guide, as we’ve done every year since we started Digital Transactions in 2004. That’s because payments is a complex business involving multiple providers operating across multiple product and service categories in environments that can change in the blink of an eye.

Need evidence for that? Just look at the changes Covid-19 has wrought. More e-commerce, including not just the latest fashions on apparel but also online ordering and food delivery. More contactless payments, including those based on QR codes and text-message links as well as chip cards. Less cash. Less check conversion, at least at the point of sale.

Will those trends hold up over the long haul, well past the time of plague? We don’t pretend to know. But we do propose that this Guide can help you navigate the fluctuations in this challenging environment. It can help you find the right people who are likely to have the most cogent answers, the most up-to-date technology, the most cost-efficient tactics. Those resources are all here, in one place, updated for 2020.

Nor do you have to be immersed in grand strategy to benefit from this resource. What questions cross your mind every day? How to expand the market, develop that new product or service, find the right people? How to tweak the pricing schedule, keep tabs on the competition, revamp the marketing plan? What about sales forecasts for 2021? A new strategic plan? A new client-service approach or technology?

What about emerging trends and the products aimed at taming them? Will cashierless commerce go mainstream any time soon? Is the broader field of IoT ready for prime time? What about data security—are the right people developing the right locks and keys? Technology bets are easier when you’ve had conversations with the experts.

This 2020 Buyers Guide is really a catalog of resources that can help you find answers to a litany of questions—the ones that are unique to your market, your location, your merchants and other clients, your products and services.

So put this August issue on your desktop. Consult it often. And take a moment to ponder how it might help put you in touch with some really knowledgeable people in a really challenging time.

— John Stewart, Editor, john@digitaltransactions.net