Globally, everything indicates that more and more people are looking to give up cash and completely digitize their economy. Technology has played a key role in the evolution of payment methods.Above all, if you take into account that smartphones are the most used tool to make purchases online in most countries and that consumers are increasingly demanding and demand technology, convenience and speed. This forces companies to develop more innovative products.For the time being, in 2017 there were 7.1 million users of electronic channels, as reported by the Central Bank. Of this total, 10% belongs to mobile banking, 71% operated by home banking and the remaining 19% through ATMs.In a market that adds new players, companies such as Visa, American Express or MasterCard look for alternatives to maintain their leadership position. Contactless or contactless cards, with integrated circuit (EMV), mobile payments or biometric technology are just some of the innovations they are exploring.Visa Argentina claims to be focused on developing new forms of payment for consumers at all times and places, bringing the benefits of digital or electronic transactions to these publics and the economy as a whole."Digital technologies are creating new categories of commerce, such as e-commerce and mobile, and new ways of making purchases in the physical world are being generated, such as using a telephone or portable device enabled with payment technology without contact, scan a QR code or simply click on a button ", detail from the company.In addition, from the firm added: "Currently, we are at the door of a great change in the omnipresence of payments and what it means to pay 'in and from anywhere.' Almost any connected device can become a place to go Buy, buy and settle the transaction, this is the new era of connected commerce. "In the strategy of the company, they assure that they even have under the radar the possibility that in the future they will resort to equipment connected to the Internet of Things and promise "to facilitate the cancellation from any device, just as it is done by passing a card "For its part, Paula Ramos Mejía, Account Development Manager of American Express Argentina, tells iProUP that one of the main pillars of the firm "is to open new and innovative payment channels and there points out the strategy that is being developed in Argentina" .The executive points out that American Express is working "with fintechs and new market players, such as aggregators, wallets and other participants.""We promote new forms of payment, for example, we are working together with MercadoLibre to promote the wallet, to pay for services, QR payments and SUBE top-ups, among others." For this, we are bringing different marketing proposals to our partners so that they can try these new methodologies ", completes Ramos Mejía.Being close (of the fintech) is very goodAlthough at first the relationship did not seem to be very friendly, at present everything indicates that the link between financial entities and the fintech is necessarily close.Financial entities have had to surrender to the talent, ideas and technology of many ventures with innovative solutions for users, especially those who have not been banked, who, until a few years ago, were left out of the system."We are directly related to them in different areas, such as CACE or the Innovation Desk of the Central Bank, among others." We seek to work with Fintechs to complement and develop the ecosystem of means of payment, "confirms Paula Ramos Mejía, of American Express.Visa is also working in collaboration with startups in the fintech sector to continue transforming the electronic payments industry around the world."Many of these companies are improving access to a wide variety of financial services, both for the banking and non-banking segments of the population," they say from the company."Through our Visa's Everywhere Initiative program we seek to partner with innovative startups that bring new ideas to solve business challenges, influence product strategy and support our customers," explained Visa.Security before everythingToday, the financial services industry is innovating in security over each transactional channel."Until recently, the only security we had was a PIN for any channel that we used, now, when operating by home banking, the device from which one makes the transaction is verified, or the behavior of the user is studied to perform a cross-over with its usual operations, "said Sebastián Stranieri, CEO of VU Security, a specialist company in the field."The most innovative, without doubt, is the use of facial recognition in the process of registration and subsequent use of digital channels, which we have implemented in multiple banks and fintechs," the expert completed.In this sense, the Supervielle, Macro, Galicia and ICBC banks have already placed first and incorporated this type of technology to provide greater protection to their mobile customers.In the case of the Macro, they can enter the mobile banking with their fingerprint or through facial recognition.The ICBC, in as much, already from the past year enabled this last modality for the access to its "app".From the Supervielle, they resorted to biometrics so that users could enter the application without a password. And one in three has already incorporated this methodology.The entities try to take advantage of the new technology to provide a better service to their customers, as well as provide new ways of interaction.This is the case of Galicia, which enabled claims via WhatsApp. In addition, it has also advanced in the entrance to its app from biometric data.On the side of the cards, from Visa they assure that for the company security has always been a priority."We invest more in security than in any other area of ââour business Our Information Security program has been designed to protect Visa data throughout our global technology space and through investments and progressive improvements to prevent, detect and act on threats specific, "they say.On the side of American Express, Ramos Mejía also highlights the importance of providing secure solutions. In this regard, he explains: "We offer a tool called Enhance Authorization, which allows us to reduce fraud and increase approval ratios, and we have a team of professionals who train businesses to improve the rate of chargebacks and disputes." .And he emphasizes: "The quality of our service is a strength we have and we rely on that when approaching and proposing new tools to our clients." People relate the brand with the service, security and support it will have to the time to make a digital transaction, because they feel protected by the brand. "The future is digitalThe connected devices are changing everything in terms of purchases and payments. Trade is increasingly migrating from the physical to the digital world and companies that are part of the financial ecosystem can not be left out of this trend that is gaining ground worldwide.More and more businesses migrate from PCs to connected devices, including mobile phones, tablets and portable devices (wearables). Consumers lead this change as their appetite for adopting new technologies and devices grows.According to Pablo Croci, CMO of Increase, the means of payment are being transformed every day and surely the scenario will be very different in the coming years."The regulations are being opened to introduce new technologies, traditional companies are renewing their products, creating innovative solutions and much more," says the executive.And competa: "The QR code and contactless are much more installed in the rest of the world than in Latin America, we are just taking the first steps in Argentina and that will be added new technologies that always aim to improve the customer experience."The connected devices are changing the way to buy and pay as it happens today. Online and mobile transactions are just the beginning. This new era is being driven, in large part, by mobility and new open and flexible technologies that facilitate the creation of innovative forms of payment.It is also being driven by the behavior of consumers, who increasingly turn to mobile devices to operate."We have been working to ensure that these changes are as reliable, safe and beneficial for everyone in the digital world as they have been in the physical world," they argue from Visa. "We are continuously introducing innovations, through the improvement of our products, systems and services, and bringing the benefits of electronic channels to more people in more places ", they complete from the company.For Visa, Argentina is a very important country in current and potential terms in the electronic payments market. In addition to being a very relevant player."We are working closely with our issuers and acquirers and other participants in the payment ecosystem, with the aim of continuing to drive the development of the implementation of innovative payment solutions, both in traditional and non-traditional channels," they explain.In line with this, the Amex executive states: "From our role as a means of payment we observe that the growth that is taking place is exponential, and more and more people choose to cancel their services through any of these wallets with American Express" .According to Ramos Mejía, the two main ones are Pago Mis Cuentas / Todo Pago and Mercado Pago, which today account for 4% of the total digital service payment transactions. However, it highlights: "They are growing at 661% compared to last year, they are expanding at a great speed and the curve is exponential".For his part, Nicolás Gatica, Chief Alliance Officer of Increase, emphasizes: "Many of the traditional companies will have to evaluate the alternative of finding allies among the new players to run this race, all these changes and the most competitive environment in terms of means of payment must end up benefiting the consumer, with better conditions and innovative products. "A large part of the transactional media that at the time set the standard for innovation have become obsolete today. This evolution is unstoppable and companies must adapt to all changes to meet the needs of consumers. User experience is essential for companies in all industries, but for the financial sector it is critical.Most likely, the use of physical money will be reduced in favor of virtual operations and companies in the sector should be prepared. On that depends the future of the industry.