While the COVID-19 pandemic will eventually come to an end, many of the changes it has brought will likely persist into the future. Digital has certainly advanced further and faster than anyone predicted at this time last year, and the ground that’s been taken is unlikely to ever be surrendered back, Helena Mao, vice president of global product strategy for payment solutions at Blackhawk Network, told PYMNTS in a recent conversation.
“I think a lot of these changes are here to stay,” she said. “As human beings, when we get to experience something better and more convenient — especially in our busy lives — we hold on to it. I don’t foresee us reverting to the way it used to be even after the pandemic is over and we are able to walk around without masks on.”