How Casino Gaming Laid The Foundation For The Growth Of Online Payment Technology

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Introduction

As with any disruptive technological change in our society, there are benefits and flaws. The growing levels of interconnectivity often cause debate in the broader world and popular culture. While it can be much easier to focus on the negatives of the internet's growing influence, especially in light of the recent CrowdStrike incident, it can be just as easy to overlook how beneficial technology is and the ease of use it's brought into our lives.

Early Days Of Payment Technology

It's hard to highlight how different the world was before the internet. Although technological changes are now so engrained in society that they've become second nature to many of us, there was a time when making a phone call was expensive and time-consuming.

We couldn't pay our bills online in seconds; we had to take time out of our day to travel to a bank and pay them manually, and checks took days to clear.

Online banking was nonexistent - the list goes on and on. Some industries identified these changes and got ahead of the curve, realizing that the internet would open up a pathway to finding a global customer base rather than the local one they were used to.

This was the foundation and the idea that helped so many businesses flourish, whether it was early start-up ideas like Amazon that fully embraced the early innovations of the online world or the casino industry, which warmed to it in the early 2000s.

Pioneering Industries Which Shifted The Focus

If we take a second to look at the casino industry, for instance, for interactive games like roulette, where a live dealer seemed integral to the continuity and flow of the game, online companies were able to mirror the game via live video streams, meaning that roulette players could obtain the same level of gaming experience.

Ultimately, the providers were able to tackle the challenges of bridging this and give customers a more convenient way to play online roulette without having to travel and spend money just to take themselves to a physical location were able to appeal to a newer, growing type of casino gamer.

Obviously, the early days of playing roulette online were met with initial skepticism, but this was because it was such a new technology. In the late 1990s, far fewer people were computer literate or wanted to enter their card details online - which also meant that e-wallets like Neteller and PayPal became an unlikely draw for those wanting to deposit and play roulette on their PC or laptop but not have to provide their full card information.

We can't credit one sole industry for facilitating the rise of online payments and fintech. Still, online casinos certainly played an integral role in the early years, alongside the likes of Amazon and eBay - which was vital in the rise of PayPal and helped both companies flourish and become synonymous.

The 2010s

It wasn't a simple case of companies understanding that the future was digital; external factors had to help push the collective industry in the same direction. Luckily, throughout the 2010s, a sharp societal shift meant that smartphones became abundant and cheaper, and the internet was faster and more convenient to access.

Traditional payment systems like VISA and MasterCard positioned themselves at the zenith of the digital payment systems market. Although they still are considered titans of the fintech industry, the rise of e-wallets, Apple Pay, and Google Pay, which initially started to show promise in the 2010s, ramped up significantly toward the latter stages of the decade and into the modern-day market.

Although Apple's monopoly on the smartphone industry has been challenged, they were able to launch their payment system technology and are quickly becoming a market leader and consumer favorite - you only need to go down to the supermarket and see how many people are using their phones as a payment method to get an idea of how dominant it is becoming.

As Apple continues implementing disruptive, innovative technology, from AI implementation in its Notes app to exploring the world of VR headsets, it could also become the market leader and enact significant change in the online payment world over the next decade.

Final Thoughts

While there's no denying that the immense creativity and pioneering technology that helped online payment systems flourish have been the main reasons behind their success, it wouldn't be possible without the mass onboarding of people using them for daily transactions.

Some experts point to the advances of blockchain and cryptocurrency as facing challenges similar to those in the early days of online payments. Some believe they provide an even more convenient way to deposit funds online, eliminating cross-border fees and removing the need for a bank to oversee any payments.

However, it's a case of education and usability - and casino gaming was one of the first transformative ways to show people they could use the internet safely, using traditional payment systems, and save themselves time while doing so. As more corporations and industries followed this blueprint, we're now immersed in a world where the internet and online payment systems are integral to our daily lives.