How Fintechs and Artificial Intelligence are improving user experiences in New Zealand

With today’s customers expecting a seamless user experience at every touchpoint and across every channel, technological innovation will be critical in empowering New Zealand businesses with what they need to stay ahead of tomorrow’s commerce expectations.

The reality is that consumers already expect a frictionless experience in all their daily digital interactions – this is simply a baseline, a bare minimum. With features like predictive text search, pre-filled payment and delivery information, it’s evident that there is now a level of inherent convenience which simply wasn’t expected nor possible before.

Around the world, we’re witnessing significant shifts in the traditional shopping experience. Options like social commerce, livestream shopping, and community group buys are transforming traditional forms of money movement. And emerging technologies like generative AI, of which ChatGPT is the best-known example, has great potential to transform and streamline existing processes behind each merchant’s user experience.

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Security and Innovation go hand in hand

As the digital commerce environment becomes more sophisticated, so do attempts to commit fraud. Those operating in the payments space must be nimble and adapt to the ever-changing landscape[1].

In the same way that AI technology has the potential to elevate the user experience, AI driven security is increasingly critical as commerce continues to rapidly shift online.

For example, Visa has pioneered AI technology modelled on the human brain that can analyse more than 500 risk attributes in a millisecond, supporting security and a rapidly seamless customer experience. This technology is being used to combat attacks that use automation to test and guess payment credentials, to help prevent fraud from impacting New Zealand businesses.

This growing push for a seamless experience almost serves as an ironic backdrop to the growing complexity within the retail industry. Hence, it’s evident that industry partnerships, underpinned by an intuitive and transparent payments system, will be key to meeting (and exceeding) such expectations.

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Championing local innovation

Locally, Kiwi fintech and mobile wallet provider Dosh’s collaboration with Visa is an excellent use case where the customer’s experience is being prioritised. Dosh launched in New Zealand in 2021 to fill a gap in the country’s payment landscape – enabling instant payments and funds transfers between users. Before Dosh, there was no way for Kiwis to instantly transfer money to another person or business – unless they were with the same bank.

Visa’s global capability combined with Dosh’s local network unlocked an instant payments network for businesses that accept Visa cards, who would previously have needed an account to accept Dosh payments. This partnership is a best-in-class example of a local innovation that puts an emphasis on customer experience and security from its inception.

As consumer preferences evolve, businesses will need to ensure that they are leveraging technology that is not only innovative, but also secure. And in order to truly offer a seamless experience that simplifies complexities for the end user, industry partnerships and collaboration will be the way forward.

[1] Visa’s Digital Commerce Roadmap in Asia Pacific, p11

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Article by Anthony Jones, Visa’s Head of Digital Partnerships - Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific