Mobile wallets may be great for consumers, but for U.S. retailers, trying to decide if and when they’d like to accept different wallets can drive them crazy. There are simply way too many options and with the growing number of mobile wallet apps in the market, it’s becoming more complicated for retailers to support them all.
Smartphones are in the hands of more Americans than ever before. Pew Research estimates that 68% of the population owned a smartphone in 2015 and that number is expected to keep growing. In addition to the connectivity that smartphones provide to information, entertainment, and one another, they can also help simplify payment transactions. The availability of smartphone-based digital wallets like Apple Pay and Google Wallet have morphed mobile devices into payment devices, while also changing the dynamics of traditional cash-only transactions. Now parking fees, public transportation fares, and fast food purchases are just some of the smaller-ticket items that can be paid using mobile devices.
We recently had the opportunity to interview our partners and Ingenico experts regarding their payment predictions for 2016. We covered many topics ranging from EMV, NFC, payment security, Omni-channel, unattended solutions and more. This is the first of a three-part video blog series.
The hospitality industry sees a lot of payment transactions, and in most of these situations, the servers/staff takes the credit card from the customers to process the payment. In a typical dine-in restaurant environment, the server drops off the check, the customer puts their credit card in the billfold, the server then picks up the check, swipes the card in the back of the restaurant and brings the customer a receipt to sign. But, this payment experience is now starting to change…and for good reasons. Many hospitality businesses need to rethink how they accept payments and consider bringing payments to the consumer at the point of service as a viable option. Why? Let’s take a look at five reasons why paying at the point of service is beneficial to the hospitality businesses:
The holiday season is upon us and attractive deals and promotions are calling out to shoppers to get ready for Black Friday - the busiest shopping day of the year. Every year on this day, thousands of shoppers rush into retail stores to hunt for the best deals and discounts from products ranging from electronics to apparel. With a higher foot traffic, retail stores also experiencing a higher volume of transactions. According to a recent survey by BestBlackFriday.com, the majority of Black Friday shoppers plan to pay for their in-store purchases by using their credit/debit cards. Retailers need to ensure they provide their customers with the best shopping experience as well as the best checkout experience – and that includes a fast, secure and convenient transaction. In the wake of the EMV migration in the US and introduction of new payment technologies, here are five ways retailers can prepare themselves for the Black Friday madness:
