Travel and finance have long been intertwined. From exchanging currencies at airports to juggling various payment methods, travellers have faced numerous challenges when it comes to managing their finances while on the go. The days of carrying bulging wallets filled with stacks of cash, traveller’s checks, and multiple credit cards are now behind us.

In the modern era, simplicity and efficiency are the name of the game. The millennial generation, in particular, has shown a strong preference for consolidating their financial needs into a single digital device. This shift towards digitalisation has given rise to a plethora of payment solutions designed to streamline the travel payment process.

Simplicity, for a seamless payment user experience

The era of carrying wallets has become a thing of the past as more people reduce their reliance on manual transactions and digital payments take centre stage. Enabling mobile-first, cross-border payments has become a necessary innovation in today’s fast-paced world.

With numerous payment apps available on mobile platforms, companies need to continuously improve their processes based on end users’ needs. The success of fintech and technology-driven businesses is in recognising the importance of customer engagement, as it not only builds loyalty but increases customer lifetime value and fosters business growth.

Also Read: Navigating sports tech using the travel industry’s playbook

To me, enhancing the customer experience also means providing faster and more accessible financing options for all. It is imperative to serve every community, whether it means helping them manage their cash flows while travelling, sending money back to their families or navigating the changing economic landscape.

Enhanced security and trust in payment platforms

Amid the myriad of digital payment options today, among the key differentiators that customers are seeking are reliability and trust. With the SVB collapse earlier this year and the recent disruptions of DBS and OCBC banking services, the public consensus is that trust has been inevitably shaken – and people are wary about where they are placing their finances.

For digital payments and remittance providers, a guarantee for digital safety when it comes to a user’s personal information is essential. Besides providing end-to-end encryption and 24/7 customer support, firms have to remain accountable and on the ball when it comes to customer security, especially when travelling.

Budget travellers still face high costs and limited convenience

As it nears year-end, travel demand shows no signs of slowing, amidst airline profits rising and despite living expenses soaring. People are eagerly planning their itineraries for the holiday season, fuelled by a renewed intention to explore more. Yet, budget-conscious travellers still face the challenges of expensive options and inconvenience.

Traditionally, trips require the exchange of foreign currencies and physical cash, and tourists are often cautious about their spending so that they can stick to a budget while getting a great shopping experience.

Research by TripAdvisor has shown that shopping is a significant part of travellers’ experiences, with a considerable portion of their travel expenses allocated to shopping.

Furthermore, in Roadbook’s 2023 current trends, consumers yearn for meaningful travels while maintaining their budget and longer stays. Saving money becomes essential to continue pursuing their wanderlust, especially for millennials.

In fact, younger generations, such as millennials and Gen-Zs, are becoming increasingly influential in the movement of money, favouring digital platforms and mobile devices for their financial transactions.

This begs the question, what solution can today’s technology provide in a time where convenience and simplicity are expected?

A boon to travellers: The humble travel card

Travel credit cards may offer various benefits, such as rewards points and travel insurance, but they can also come with limitations. Firstly, these cards often have high annual fees, which can offset the value of rewards if you don’t use them frequently.

Additionally, travel credit cards may have foreign transaction fees, making international purchases costly. Furthermore, earning and redeeming rewards can be complex, and blackout dates or restrictions may limit your travel options. It’s essential to carefully consider these limitations and assess which travel credit card aligns with your spending habits and travel needs.

Today, many businesses are incentivising customers with rewards, points, cashback, and other benefits, further fuelling the demand for these cards. The integration of technology, particularly smartphones, has also paved the way for seamless digital transactions linked to physical credit cards.

Also Read: Navigating the relationship between ChatGPT and the travel industry

In my personal opinion, mobile payment apps (in the form of multi-currency wallets) and travel cards offer the best solutions for hassle-free and efficient overseas payments during travel. At its core, travel cards aim to bring the value of convenience to customers.

One of the biggest benefits to all our budget travellers out there is the favourable foreign exchange rates, which can add up to big savings when you are spending abroad. Furthermore, the savings on foreign exchange conversion can even start ahead of your travel by converting Singapore dollars to foreign currency whenever the rate is in your favour and storing it in our multicurrency wallet until your trip.

To conclude, in a world where travel is a cherished aspiration and digital payment solutions are becoming increasingly indispensable, it’s clear that simplicity, security, and convenience are paramount.

As we bid adieu to the days of cumbersome wallets and navigate the digital landscape, payment apps are becoming key facilitators of seamless cross-border transactions. In a time when budget-conscious travellers seek meaningful experiences without breaking the bank, travel cards are standing out as a beacon of financial efficiency.

So, as you plan your next adventure, remember that technology has answered the call for convenience and simplicity, making your travel payments as effortless as your wanderlust desires. Safe travels!

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In the dynamic landscape of e-commerce, direct-to-consumer businesses, and the quest for customer retention, an age-old TV programming concept — selling live to an audience — has surfaced. Here, the conventional transactional exchange gives way to the engaging realm of live-stream commerce.

This dynamic marketplace, where real-time engagement and emotional manipulation reign supreme, has become the epicentre of a phenomenon known as impulse buying tendency — the predisposition to make unplanned, spontaneous purchases, often fueled by a surge of emotions and a sense of urgency.

Live-stream commerce, with its captivating personalities, persuasive sales pitches, and penchant for scarcity-induced tactics, has proven to be a fertile ground for this tendency to flourish. By artfully employing scarcity-induced sales, live streamers tap into the depths of human psychology, creating a sense of urgency and perceived scarcity that triggers a fear of missing out (FOMO) among viewers. This FOMO, coupled with the persuasive language of the live streamer, often leads to impulsive purchases driven more by emotion than by rational decision-making.

Scarcity-induced promotions: A key player in live-stream commerce

At the heart of this phenomenon lies the concept of scarcity-induced promotion, a hallmark of live-stream commerce. By artificially limiting the availability of a product, either through time constraints or quantity restrictions, live streamers create a sense of urgency and perceived scarcity that triggers a fear of missing out (FOMO) among viewers. This FOMO, coupled with the persuasive language of the live streamer, often leads to impulsive purchases driven more by emotion than by rational decision-making.

The manipulation of anticipated emotions plays a pivotal role in this dynamic. Live streamers adeptly orchestrate these emotions, evoking a sense of regret for missing out on a desired product while simultaneously painting a picture of joy and satisfaction upon a successful purchase. This emotional rollercoaster further fuels impulse buying tendencies as viewers seek to avoid the anticipated regret and embrace the anticipated rejoicing.

Also Read: The rise of live commerce in Asia and adoption of BeLive by retailers

The frequency of live-stream viewing also contributes to the prevalence of impulse buying. As viewers become more familiar with the dynamics of live-stream commerce, they become more susceptible to the persuasive tactics employed by live-streamers. The repeated exposure to scarcity-induced promotions and emotional appeals reinforces the impulse buying tendency, making it more likely that viewers will make unplanned purchases.

In the realm of live-stream commerce, scarcity-induced promotions have become a potent tool, deftly wielded by live streamers to manipulate emotions and drive impulse buying decisions. By creating a sense of urgency, perceived scarcity, and anticipated emotions, live streamers transform viewers into enthusiastic consumers eager to make unplanned purchases in pursuit of a fleeting sense of satisfaction.

However, this phenomenon comes at a cost. Impulse buying can lead to financial strain, buyer’s remorse, and even addiction. As live-stream commerce continues to grow in popularity, it is crucial to raise awareness about the potential consequences of impulse buying and empower consumers to make informed decisions.

Businesses operating in the live-stream commerce arena must also exercise a sense of responsibility. While scarcity-induced promotions can be effective in driving sales, they should not come at the expense of consumer well-being. Businesses should prioritise transparency, clarity, and responsible marketing practices to ensure that viewers make informed decisions aligned with their needs and financial capabilities.

Live-stream commerce, when approached with a focus on genuine engagement, informed consumerism, and responsible marketing practices, can thrive as a platform for excitement, connection, and sustainable growth.

By understanding the dynamics that influence consumer behaviour in this dynamic environment, both consumers and businesses can harness the power of live-stream commerce to create positive and rewarding experiences.

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The metaverse represents a paradigm shift in the way we perceive and engage with both the virtual and physical realms. This visionary concept holds the power to fundamentally alter the landscape of human interaction and experience. It’s a digital frontier where boundaries blur, creating a collective, immersive, and interconnected world that transforms and transcends the limitations of the human experience.

One of the most profound impacts of the metaverse lies in its potential to reshape social interactions. No longer confined by geographical distances, individuals can come together from across the globe, fostering connections and collaborations that were once unimaginable. Friendships, business partnerships, and creative endeavours can flourish in this boundless space, forging a new era of how we engage and interact with each other.

When discussing the potential of the metaverse, there is no denying its vastness: from reshaping social interactions by transcending geographical boundaries to revolutionising education with immersive learning experiences. The metaverse promises to redefine how we work, play, learn, and create in an increasingly interconnected digital world, amounting to a $5 trillion impact in various customer and enterprise use cases.

Exciting possibilities await at the forefront of cutting-edge technology

To deliver a truly immersive virtual reality experience, cutting-edge technology is essential. Quality infrastructure is crucial to ensure lifelike graphics. Minimal delay between user actions and system response is vital to prevent motion sickness and enhance realism. Advanced haptic feedback systems offer tactile sensations, allowing users to feel objects they interact with, adding a new dimension to the experience. High-speed, low-latency networks like 5G, coupled with edge computing, ensure seamless online experiences even in highly detailed, data-intensive virtual worlds.

Also read: Future-proofing omnichannel touchpoints for businesses via AI

Apart from delivering a seamless experience, technology also plays an equally important role in security, privacy, and interoperability. Protecting user data and ensuring secure transactions are vital for widespread metaverse adoption. Meanwhile, standards and protocols must be established to enable cross-platform interactions, ensuring that users are not confined to closed ecosystems. 

For the metaverse to truly work, the system highlights the importance of high fidelity and decentralised experiences, something that only a few companies out there are capable of offering.

RAPUTA’s forward-looking philosophy would transform the metaverse social networking experience

One of the pioneers leading the charge for a high-fidelity and decentralised metaverse experience is RAPUTA, an online virtual world streaming platform, and high-fidelity digital asset distribution service. RAPUTA allows users to meet, chat and explore with customised 3D avatars in AI-generated virtual worlds on the internet browser. Providing the best social experience in a spatial environment, their vision is to transform text messaging and video image processing into a movie-like 3D virtual world, offering the best contextual metaverse experience — which refers to its unique framework that enables users to navigate the platform through event-driven, goal-driven, and relationship-driven modes, as opposed to simple open-endedness.

The company, founded in 2022, is working across Singapore, New York, and Taipei. RAPUTA’s multidisciplinary approach combines expertise in-game mechanics, social applications, artificial intelligence, and more, allowing their team to craft a Metaverse experience that is both awe-inspiring and functional.

RAPUTA’s unique offering is simple; its platform provides a contextual spatial experience designed for social connection, enabling users to discover and support talented and creative content creators such as social media influencers and YouTubers, among others. Their outstanding features promise live-linked facial expressions, an interactive spatial environment, AI-generated avatars, hyper-realistic simulation, and performant avatars, all of which add up to providing a responsive and seamless user experience.

Ultimately, RAPUTA empowers metaversal interconnection on the back of proven technology.

Why RAPUTA is a prime contender for becoming the leading Metaverse platform provider

RAPUTA’s mission is to enrich the metaverse experience with original and creative content. Their metaverse platform would allow users to chat and interact with photorealistic avatars without the need for VR equipment.

To make the experience more exciting, RAPUTA also boasts the integration of game mechanics, social applications, artificial intelligence, and more. Their approach results in a metaverse experience that balances awe-inspiring creativity with functional usability, reducing time and cost by 10x and building an all-in-one solution: from concept to full-featured virtual environments.

Customisation and scalability allow a unique experience for all users that has the power to simulate hyper-real interactions with good character and environment design and world-building that is accessible across different platforms.

Also read: The Future of Capitalism: Get the chance to win $5 million worth of investments

This makes RAPUTA a metaverse powerhouse, delivering the technology, creativity, and services to help you unleash the next generation of virtual commerce, entertainment, education, and social spaces.

Moreover, embracing the virtual world offers fresh revenue models that rejuvenate brands through B2B opportunities and synergies with other for-profit and non-profit organisations, as well as B2C2C partnerships, especially when it comes to magnifying both influence and income of the influencers that the platform helps empower. With this, RAPUTA is leading the charge for quality metaverse experience and economy. 

Unique cases for companies integrating the metaverse experience into the real world

Brands working with RAPUTA establish their branding and identity, weaving virtual realms into daily life by harnessing the power of cloud computing. Tailored monetisation through additional purchases and other revenue schemes are made available, enabling brands to assemble communities in one virtual space at an unprecedented scale. 

One such case is the creation of the Dhamaverse, due to the observed significant increase in anxiety, depression, and other mental health concerns associated with the growing use of social media applications. The primary purpose behind the creation of Dharamaverse is to establish a virtual sanctuary where individuals can find solace and inner peace.

Employing state-of-the-art photorealistic 3D technology, Raputa strives to provide users with an experience that makes them feel as though they are physically present within these serene settings. This immersive environment is intended to aid individuals in achieving a heightened sense of calmness.

Community building is another application of technology that brands can capitalise on. Producing distinctive and exciting content, Raputa intends to host a wide array of large-scale activities, encompassing TED talks, storytelling, experience sharing, group discussions, and therapeutic healing sessions. This encourages users to establish and participate in communities within the platform, further made possible by the presence of replicas of real people in the metaverse.

Also read: Set sail with intellectual property: Your business’s journey to success

Other particular use cases for B2B Metaverse-as-a-Service are available. Brands can host virtual concerts and use the platform for gaming and entertainment purposes. The technology is also capable of commerce activities via interactive 3D product displays and metahuman customer service clerks, showrooms for manufacturers, real estate properties, interior design, art galleries, exhibitions, and tradeshows.

Companies can leverage digital land to enhance their recruitment and onboarding processes. Additionally, the audience can benefit from educational and conference opportunities within a virtual campus, offering an enjoyable networking and learning experience. Moreover, a customer support centre in the metaverse can be established to improve customer services.

The convergence of these technologies is rapidly advancing, making the metaverse an increasingly feasible and thrilling prospect. As these innovations continue to mature, we can anticipate a metaverse that is not only immersive but also accessible and beneficial across various aspects of our lives — and RAPUTA is at the forefront of reshaping the future of these immersive digital experiences.

For more information, visit their page: https://www.raputa.com/

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This article is produced by the e27 team, sponsored by RAPUTA

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