I'm always on the hunt for new words to replace overworked words. Which brings me to "seamless." I have to admit, it's doing a fair job of describing a payments industry obsession. If your seams are showing, it means somewhere down the line there's a disconnect that's causing friction, another overworked word.

What causes friction in digital commerce? Here are three big ones:

Hand-offs: As we merge disparate technology platforms, little gaps between technologies expose vulnerabilities and hold us back.

Distrust: Interdepartmental issues between sales and underwriting, or dev-ops and security, prevent companies from being a nimble, unified force.

Vestigial behavior: The ways in which we interact with technology can reveal a lot about our characters. If your digital assistants are becoming boring and predictable, it may be time to challenge them with a new task or application.

I plan to dig deeper into these three topics in 2021, which can't get here fast enough.

Even if we don't see immediate changes in the new year, the simple act of permanently retiring the 2020 jersey will help our industry and country look ahead to new possibilities.