Venture capitalists have been throwing gobs of money at payments companies since the COVID-19 pandemic appeared last year and began fueling contactless e-commerce alternatives to in-person shopping and dining. Now, advanced digital payment methods are continuing to gain traction even as retailers and merchants bring the latest innovations to in-store payment systems.
The surge in e-commerce, plus more adoption by larger retailers and merchants, is driving the interest by venture capitalists, McKee said. In addition, those trends are spurring more competition, with new, lower-profile competitors arriving on the scene to grab a piece of the expanding e-commerce market, he added.
