Earlier this week I spent some time at the National Restaurant Association (NRA) Show 2019, and aside from still feeling full from all the amazing free samples I tried, there were a lot of great conversations that took place in our booth and across the tradeshow floor. Spending the last few days talking to restaurants and browsing the different booths, one thing is for sure: technology is having a massive impact on the transformation of the industry.
Winter is over and spring has sprung! You know what that means… spring cleaning, getting rid of old things and making room for the new. It’s also the perfect time to update, consolidate and/or refresh your payment technology. Technology and your business needs are constantly evolving, including your payments solution. It’s important to stay on top of your product lifecycles, make sure all your systems work together seamlessly and be in the know of what’s new in the market. With that in mind, here are three suggestions for your business to consider this spring:
The U.S. travel industry as a whole has been on a steady incline since recovering from the economic recession a decade ago. Companies can compete by offering unique experiences to their customers in whatever travel-related vertical that they’re in. Millennials are especially known for craving unique experiences, and 77 percent of them will use all or most of their vacation time this year. Let’s take a look at some recent technologies that are beginning to impact the way we travel, whether it’s in transportation, hospitality or restaurants:
Biometrics today, such as fingerprint readers and facial recognition, are making the payment experience more secure and seamless for consumers. Biometrics have been widely used in other industries including law enforcement, healthcare and voter registration for several years. In the past, authenticating a person came only in the form of either something you have (a key, a badge) or something you know (a PIN, a password). A password is more difficult to steal than a physical object, but it can still be done. Biometrics today also verify identity based on characteristics unique to the person which cannot be stolen or replicated (for the most part).
A recent study conducted by The University of Illinois found that retail purchases increased by more than 23 percent when consumers opted for mobile wallets such as Apple Pay or Google Pay. What that means is that consumers are buying low-cost items more frequently when they opt for mobile wallets. It’s not surprising since prior research has shown that people spend more when using credit cards as opposed to cash. In fact, contactless payments are predicted to drive global card spend to $45 trillion by 2023.
