If you want to succeed in today’s crazy commercial ecosystem, you must be willing to pivot on a dime and embrace innovations even if they seem intimidating. A case in point is contactless card readers, which now enable you to offer your customers a faster and safer option for making their credit card payments at the point of sale. Take just a few minutes to learn about contactless card readers and the benefits of touchless payments, and we’re betting that any of your doubts will be relieved.
Contactless payments defined.
Before the use of what is known as near-field communication (NFC) technology became widespread, customers paid for items with credit cards by handing them over to the cashier or swiping or dipping them into the merchant’s reader. Their only other alternatives were to pay with checks and cash, both of which were inconvenient, cumbersome, and less secure.
NFC changed all of that by providing a way for the customer’s smartphone or wearable device to communicate seamlessly and safely with the merchant’s card reader. As long as the two devices were no more than a few centimeters apart, the customer’s payment information could be transmitted, authenticated, and sent back to the merchant’s reader in a matter of mere seconds. Best of all, encryption and tokenization technology ensured that data attractive to hackers (such as credit card numbers and security codes) were converted into single-use random strings of characters that could not be used for fraudulent purposes.
This is made possible because of the digital wallet applications that are now built into all smartphones. These secure digital repositories provide a space for users to safely store their credit and debit card details, for use later at the time of purchase. When the customer goes to make a payment, they can then simply open the wallet app, authenticate their identity with a PIN, fingerprint, or face ID, then hold their NFC-equipped phone near the merchant’s reader.
Benefits of touchless payments.
There are several good reasons for jumping on the contactless payments bandwagon. By taking this step, you can enhance your business, please your customers, and even make your employees happy. Here’s how:
- Upgrading is easy and affordable. You might even already have card readers that can accept touchless payments. Contact your payment processor to see if your current equipment is outfitted with this capability. Even if it isn’t, you shouldn’t need to pay much to make the switch.
- Touchless payments are more hygienic. It’s no secret that surfaces are breeding grounds for germs, and you don’t even want to think about where bills and coins have been. When your customer pays contactlessly, there is no physical interaction between you. As shoppers and employees continue to be concerned about health, they will appreciate that you have gone the extra mile to protect their well-being by adopting contactless payments.
- Allow you to increase efficiency. As a business owner, you know all too well that long lines at the checkout counter can be frustrating to customers and aggravating to staff. You may even lose sales when disenchanted buyers opt to abandon their purchases altogether and simply walk out the door. When you have contactless card readers, the entire checkout process is accelerated because buyers need only wave their phone or device within a few inches of your reader. The payment can therefore be completed in seconds, with the customer even having the option to have a receipt emailed to them. No more fumbling for change or searching for the right credit card; everything that is needed is already preloaded into the digital wallet on the customer’s smartphone.
- Your contactless reader can integrate to your payments software. Upgrading how buyers pay doesn’t mean you have to lose the use of the many features contained in your payments app. In fact, you gain touchless payment capabilities while still retaining the robust inventory, employee, customer management, and reporting tools that you have come to rely on.
An additional (if more subtle) benefit of incorporating contactless readers into your business is their “cool” factor. Customers continue to love the ability to simply wave a card or device near a reader and have their payment processed like magic. Offering this modernized checkout gives your company that tech-forward edge that especially appeals to younger shoppers.
Businesses that fail to shift and evolve with the times are finding themselves left behind. Don’t let that happen to you. Begin to offer contactless payment options, and you too can reap the many rewards.
