THE USE OF ALTERNATIVE PAYMENT METHODS AS A RESULT OF COVID 19

Abstract

The payment industry is always moving forward, but Covid 19, imposed the businesses had to adjust and move online when the hit the countries in 2020. Financial services are becoming more digital day by day, providing faster and better features for customers.
Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to analyze the methods of payment through electronic commerce imposed by Covid 19 and which are on the rise. A comparative analysis of these payment methods was made in certain years before, during and period after Covid 19. An analysis was also made of the alternative payment methods that are used in some countries. The research results show that offering alternative payment methods can help for online merchants to generate more sales and customers can use their preferred payment methods. It is therefore necessary to supplement the alternative payment methods and this will make online shopping to be fast and hassle-free. As the analysis shows, credit and debit cards are still number one among the payment methods. But it is also clear that there is a change in the landscape of payment methods, driven by several factors. This was confirmed by the use of alternative payment methods during the Covid 19 period.