How many times have you needed to split a bill or pay back a friend but didn’t have cash? For me, it’s a regular occurrence. Just a few weeks ago, I joined six of my friends for the Game of Thrones Season 8 premiere. We ordered a few pizzas, drinks and snacks on Uber Eats and watched eagerly as (SPOILER!) Jon Snow learned he’s actually a Targaryen. When it came time to pay for my share of the order, I pulled out my phone -- not my wallet. I Venmo’d my friend $20 (description: 🍕🧟⚔).
Have you ever wondered what it might be like to live in a world without cash? In many parts of the world, this idea of the cashless society is already taking off. Sweden is moving the fastest: only 1 in 10 citizens reported paying for something with cash last year.
Accepting all the forms of electronic payment methods including mag-stripe, EMV and NFC/contactless is only half the battle for merchants when it comes helping with adoption of different ways to pay. In some instances, you need to make sure your customers are aware that they can pay any way they want to – whether it is via EMV or mobile wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay. A recent article in Digital Transactions mentioned how some merchants who have NFC/contactless capable payment solutions may not have turned them on leading to confusion among customers on whether this payment method is available or not. This lack of education among merchants combined with the absence of awareness triggers for consumers regarding this new payment method can affect the checkout experience for shoppers.
Payment solutions, specifically smart terminals, have evolved from just being a device for payment acceptance to providing merchants with tools to boost their business, learn more about their customers and improve in-store experiences. Even though securely accepting payments is critical for any merchant, today’s solutions can not only add value to the customer’s experience but also help merchant improve efficiencies.
