Technology in 2021.

Digital remittances will most likely soar in 2021.

Miriam Jordan, national immigration correspondent:

I saw firsthand how the pandemic made immigrants more receptive to smartphone apps such as Remitly and TransferWise to send money back home. There may be no going back to more traditional remittance payments.

In August, I spoke to Mexican guest workers harvesting tomatoes on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Because of the coronavirus risks, their employer had restricted their daily travel to the fields and their dormitories. The workers couldn’t make the usual visits to tiendas, or stores, where attendants typically assist with money transfer that help family members back home pay for food, education, clothing and consumer goods.

Greg Bensinger, member of the New York Times editorial board:

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have indicated that they suddenly care about Americans’ privacy rights online. I am looking forward to them putting their money where their mouth is in 2021 by rolling out comprehensive federal privacy legislation.

Is this a pipe dream? Yes. But if anything good comes from backlash against technology companies, I hope it’s that consumers have more control over the rights to their own data.

Policy challenges for technology companies will probably grow.

Cecilia Kang, technology and regulatory policy reporter:

I have no reason to believe the Biden administration will go easier on the technology sector than its predecessor. His choices to lead the Federal Trade Commission and Justice Department will most likely continue to pursue the antitrust cases against Facebook and Google. There could be lawsuits against other big tech companies, too.

You may have to download an app to attend a game.

Kevin Draper, sports business reporter:

The pandemic will most likely encourage more sporting venues to require fans to ditch paper tickets and money and instead download an app from the team, the stadium or Ticketmaster. In one example of the digital shift that may spread, people who want to buy concessions in cash at the Atlanta Falcons stadium must already go to kiosks to convert money into a prepaid debit card.

Mobile payments and tickets reduce scalping and ticket fraud, speed up purchases and provide security officials with information on who is in the building. But forcing fans to use apps allows them to be more easily tracked or hacked, excludes people who can’t or won’t use credit cards or smartphones and denies people who love collecting ticket stubs — as well as sports halls of fame.