Banks and merchants need to familiarize themselves with voice tech

The already fast pace of change in mobile payments will only intensify in the next year driven by advances in technology and changing consumer habits. Voice-enabled technology will rise in popularity, driven by the proliferation of devices such as the Amazon Echo and growing comfort with virtual assistants such as Amazon's Alexa, a large part of Amazon's payments strategy. Amazon reported that the Amazon Echo Dot was the best-selling item on Amazon on Black Friday, meaning millions of households are likely to be setting up their new Echo on Christmas morning. As consumers become more comfortable with voice-enabled technology, they will begin using it for financial interactions. Initially these will be informational activities, such as checking balances and accessing account activity, but as comfort grows we'll see consumers initiating transactions such as paying bills or transferring funds.