ETA’s TRANSACT 2022 just wrapped up last week, and I’m still buzzing with excitement from all the great interactions and discussions. This was the first time since 2019 we had everyone in person for TRANSACT, and you could see the difference it made. You could feel the excitement as everyone convened for the first time in a while – it almost felt like catching up with old friends at a reunion.
During the pandemic many merchants, especially SMBs, made ad hoc adjustments to provide a safer customer experience. Often this was done on their own, with some businesses even going as far as putting bags over their payment terminals or even attaching them to hockey sticks for effective social distancing. While we can certainly applaud their creativity, had they worked with their technology partner they would have been able to leverage more permanent solutions. This is also why it’s so important for independent software vendors (ISVs) and other technology providers to have more consistent communication with their merchant customers. Not only does it create better opportunities to generate additional revenue, but it also provides an opportunity to solidify the relationship with your customer.
“Begin with the end in mind” is keystone habit number two from Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. For an ISV or merchant with large payment infrastructure, the chances are high that they will eventually need direct access to their fleet of payment terminals. Technical teams may be asked to update a newer EMV or alternative payment standard, schedule seasonal advertising, or track terminals for a P2PE Validated Solution. Without an effective plan in place to manage all terminals can result in inefficiencies for the business in many ways:
Payments are so much more than they used to be. Merchants of all sizes are under pressure to do more with the technology they have and exceed customer expectations. This means accepting all payment methods, adding value at checkout, serving customers in-aisle, and managing operations seamlessly.
I recently watched Zack Snyder’s Justice League which, despite the long runtime, seemed to fly by and was thoroughly enjoyable. I then reflected on a presentation I did a couple of years ago comparing how well planned the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) was compared to DC and their set of movies. One has clear stories, plans that follow a long-term vision to delight moviegoers and satisfy the fans while the other seems to be trying to cram everything into each movie.
