The Way Consumers Pay is Changing Dramatically. Is Your Point of Sale Ready?

Fast, easy and safe, the time for contactless payments has arrived.

From swiping to inserting and now tapping, the way we use credit and debit cards to initiate in-store payments continues to get faster, easier and safer with the introduction of contactless cards. A global study conducted by Mastercard revealed that 79 percent of respondents worldwide say they are now using contactless payments, citing safety and cleanliness as key drivers.

When it comes to contactless payments, here are five things merchants should be considering:

Are You Keeping Pace With Consumers?

There’s no question that hygiene has promoted awareness of contactless payments, but the long term value proposition is faster checkouts and fewer points of friction for the in-person shopping experience. According to Visa, doing away with card swiping, insertion or the need for signatures or PINS, means contactless card transactions can be authorized in as little as one second.

Is My POS Digital Wallet Ready?

Digital wallets are another contactless payment method slowly being adopted, particularly among younger consumers. Digital wallets transform a smartphone or smartwatch into a convenient and secure card-based payment method for in-store and e-commerce transactions.

Digital wallets provide valuable opportunities for all kinds of merchants to connect, interact and transact with consumers. That’s where you come in as a restaurant owner. Without a device that receives mobile wallet information, you won’t be able to take advantage of this increasingly popular payment mechanism.

Do You Have the Right PIN-less Debit Strategy?

According to Payments Canada, debit cards accounted for 29% of all transactions in 2018.3 Contactless debit cards share the speed and hygiene benefits of contactless credit cards. As an added benefit, they also enable merchants to deploy debit-routing strategies that can help them dynamically monitor and manage the cost of debit card acceptance. 

As Covid-19 promotes consumer awareness of PIN-less debit’s hygiene benefits, it is important that merchants explore and understand PIN-less debit solutions that both optimize transaction costs and enable the best customer experience.

Will You Need Fewer Cashiers?

Cashierless payments have been around for up to two decades in the form of automated fuel dispensers and self-checkout lanes at grocery and big box retail stores. At a growing number of convenience-oriented stores in the U.S., sophisticated digital sensing and communication technology now enables consumers to enter a store, select merchandise and then take it with them as their digital wallet seamlessly authenticates their identity and authorizes the correct payment.

In 2020, Forbes Insights and J.P. Morgan published Payments’ Potential, a survey of 300 global executives that identifies the way technology and consumer preference influences their payment strategies. The survey revealed that nearly 63% of respondents currently use, or plan to use, unattended checkout at the point of sale. 

How Can Your Payment Provider Help Prepare Your POS?

The consumer-driven payment innovations that provide your customers with greater speed, convenience and security at the point of sale can present you with complex new financial, operational and competitive challenges. In the case of contactless payments, some digital wallet transactions at the point of sale qualify for lower-cost card-present interchange fees, while others do not. As transaction volumes increase, it’s important to work with a payment processor that will help you understand your true cost of payment acceptance across all payment types.    

Be Ready For Contactless With Chase

The rise of contactless payments is an opportunity for merchants to make the checkout process faster, safer and more convenient. At the same time, however, it creates new learning curves for customers and employees. Chase is uniquely positioned to bring consumer insight, digital payments technology, and expertise to ensure our clients can accept their customers’ preferred payment methods with greater speed, convenience, and security.

To support operators during this time, Chase is offering a $300 statement credit for Restaurants Canada and Groupex members that open and activate a new Chase account. Learn more here.