DPG response to COVID-19 and impact to programmes on our Platform

The COVID-19 crisis has changed the way consumers undertake banking.  Under lockdown scenarios both the young and older generations are have been forced to adopt digital banking and payment solutions, relying more on online and contactless spend.  Trends across our portfolio show online spend up 43% and POS transactions up 14%, and contactless shopping rising 16%.  In stark contrast cash withdrawals have dropped markedly by 43%.

Spending habits have changed with concentration on online spend in following categories:

• Shopping (online groceries, cleaning supplies)
• Food deliveries (take away services)
• Online subscription services (video streaming, education platforms, online courses
• Virtual classes (fitness, learning)
• Healthcare products (medicines, teleconsulting)
• Utility bills (shift to online bill payment)

We also see increased demand for government pay out programmes to key workers across multiple countries, predominantly with financial support in the healthcare industry.

In response our clients are now looking for agile and modern technology and infrastructures which support contactless and mobile and also card payments, but also to be able to roll our change quickly and efficiently.  Traditional banks and monolith processors while stable and traditionally trusted will be under strain to meet these demands of speed and change to meet the crisis.

At DPG we are striving to meet these demands head on with our digital services, ensuring our interactions with our clients are meaningful and meet the urgency required, while also ensuring we are robust and reliable.  DPG has worked very closely with our clients to drive their innovation, allowing them to quickly react to this change by adapting client solutions.   Some clients have moved to virtual cards and digital wallets and others decided to repurpose existing solutions.

Consumers’ growing desire to access financial services from digital channels has led to a surge in new banking technologies that are reconceptualizing the entire banking sector.   The payments landscape is certainly changing,  Consumers and businesses supporting them must adapt  Now more than ever modernisation and innovation will be required to stay ahead of the game