Payment Solution Highlights from 2020 that You Need to Know

In 2020 most businesses had to close their doors for a while to keep employees safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. There were plenty of questions about how people would be able to pay for goods and services safely. 

Some payment solution trends started to take place so that businesses could keep running remotely or accept contactless payments. Let’s take a look at the payment solution highlights of 2020 to see if these trends are still happening and how it’s shaping the future of paying for goods and services. Keep reading to find out more. 

Going Cashless with Smaller Purchases 

Since 2019 more people have been using their credit or debit cards to make purchases. Most people use cards to make bigger purchases to avoid carrying large sums of money in their wallets. But in 2020 people were using their cards to make smaller purchases too. 

However, this trend isn’t quite popular in South Africa yet. The majority of South Africans have debit cards but still choose to make purchases with cash. According to Sowetan Live, the reason could be because South Africans have a lack of trust in their banking systems. 

On the other hand, depositing or making purchases with cash can be expensive due to bank charges. It’s cheaper to make digital transactions through mobile banking. What’s more, according to the World Health Organization handling cash is risky during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Therefore, those who have debit cards should consider swiping for goods or making a purchase through their banking apps because it’s safer and cheaper.   

The Popularity of Mobile Wallets

A mobile wallet is a digital means of handling your money. It’s a virtual wallet that you link to your card. This is so you can make purchases without drawing cash from an ATM and using a physical bank to deposit the money into an account. 

The mobile wallet is stored on your SmartPhone through an app for easy access. You can store all your card details so you can make or receive payments as well as pay your bills easily each month. You can even earn rewards when using a mobile wallet. 

In 2020, the use of mobile wallets skyrocketed in South Africa. There are plenty of service providers in the country that experienced an increase in the use of their mobile wallet services. People see it as a safer way to make purchases. 

During lockdown, people needed a safer way to transfer money to loved ones that were in a different location. Mobile wallets provided the convenience of transferring money to anyone safely and securely. 

Using electronic wallets is still trending and may push South African citizens to go completely cashless. 

Improved EMV Technology 

EMV (Europay, Mastercard and Visa) have improved their technology for bank transfers and card payments. Data from a traditional magstripe makes it easy to copy your details using a card reading device. 

With the new EMV technology, specialised codes are used as an extra precautionary measure when making card purchases. These codes will help prevent security breaches and fraudulent transactions. Additionally, EMV technology protects businesses by reducing losses related to fraud. 

Another benefit is that it opens your business to other advanced technologies that your clients or customers may appreciate. Upgrading your payment terminals allows you to offer other methods of payment such as accepting mobile wallet purchases. 

Contactless Payments

One of the top trends of 2020 was contactless payments. This form of payment allows consumers to put their card over a scanning device to make a purchase. This eliminates the use of chip and pin transactions. 

Contactless payments are also more secure compared to pin transactions because it transfers data to the POS (Point of Sale) device immediately. The benefit of contactless payment is that it’s much more hygienic because you don’t have to touch devices to key in your pin. 

This trend is starting to shape the future of cashless payments. This is because, by the year 2027, 36% of all payments will become contactless. 

The Growth of Mobile Point of Sale

A mobile point of sale is any wireless device such as a SmartPhone or a tablet that’s able to accept payments. The market for mobile point of sale continues to grow every year. With this form of payment, it allows businesses to reduce queues and speed up checkout services because it’s a faster purchase method. 

Furthermore, mobile point of sale offers modern payment solutions to customers. Since these are wireless devices you’re able to use them on the go. Merchants use this form of payment solution at festivals or conventions. 

Another benefit of mobile point of sale is that it ensures secure transactions from one device to another. This will decrease your risk of liability because transactions will be protected with extensive online security processes.  

Should You Adopt these Point of Sales Solutions? 

Contactless and digital payments are likely to increase in popularity so it’s important to upgrade your payment solutions because it will increase customer satisfaction. Here are some signs that it’s time to update your payment solutions. 

Increase in Time-Out and Slow Processing

Are slow terminals holding up the queues inside your store? Outdated software and hardware can cause an increase in time-outs and slow payment processing. Consider purchasing new hardware and connectivity services to improve the foot traffic inside your business. 

Devices Can Only Accept Payments 

Outdated terminals can only accept payments whereas new and improved technology allows you to install third-party apps or use other services such as the following: 

• QuickBooks: to assist with bookkeeping and stock take.
• Loyalty programs: You can offer loyalty points to customers so they can redeem them or use them to make purchases.
• Timesheet management: Some terminals allow you to manage your employee timesheets and schedules. This way you’ll know how many hours each employee has worked for the day, week or month. 
• Digital receipt storage: Some terminals allow you to store all your receipts in a cloud so that you can organise them. You can retrieve digital receipts easier which will make tax season less of a hassle for you. 

If you want to improve the admin side of your business or offer loyalty programs then make sure you upgrade your terminals so you can do more. 

You Can’t Offer More to Your Customers 

Outdated hardware and software won’t offer various types of payment options which can be frustrating to your customers. Cash and credit card payments are popular but now there are other types of payment methods such as Samsung Pay, Apple Pay, mobile wallets and contactless purchases. 

You want a terminal that can offer various types of payments for customers that use these types of purchase methods regularly. 

Final Thoughts

Having the latest hardware won’t work if you don’t have the correct connectivity services. You need fast, affordable and secure connections especially when you’re dealing with payments. That’s why Huge Connect offers its services to any business that uses terminals or a POS system for purchases. 

If you want secure encrypted data communication and maximum data speeds, then we can assist you. Reduce those queues with faster transactions when you opt for Huge Connect’s services. 

Let’s Connect