Technology is evolving rapidly and that means new opportunities for businesses to grow and expand. When it comes to payment processing, new technology can be used to not only accept payments, but also to aid you in growing and marketing your business.
How New Technology Affects the Payment Processing Industry
New technology makes it more affordable, more efficient, and far simpler for even small businesses with minimal budgets to accept a variety of payment forms. The fact is that business owners who embrace technology and the benefits it offers for everything from payment processing to marketing can enjoy great rewards for your efforts. These are just a few ways you can use technology for payment processing and so much more within your business organization.
Using Biometrics
In October of 2016 MasterCard announced a new identity verification app for payments that involves using biometrics, what some are calling “Selfie Payments”, to verify the identity of cardholders and make online shopping easier all around. These payment methods use facial recognition or fingerprints to verify the identity of the shopper to prevent fraud and ensure a safer payment process all around.
NFC or Contactless Payments
NFC stands for Near Field Communication. It essentially allows two devices to communicate and exchange payments. In this case a customer’s cell phone, placed in close proximity, usually within 10 cm, to your payment processor, can process the payment or exchange of funds from the customer’s account to yours. Both devices must be equipped with an NFC chip in order for this type of payment processing to work.
There are several powerful cloud-based point of sale systems on the market today that can help you literally transform your business and payment processing procedures. One of the leaders in the industry is the Clover Station. The POS system works seamlessly with other varieties of Clover products, including Clover Mini to act as a one-stop solution for payment processing, inventory management, and to act as a sales aid for your business. Both options present a variety of features that will appeal to business owners in a variety of industries and can help with everything from encouraging upsells, creating documents, managing your tax responsibilities, and
more – in addition to processing payments
for your business.
Apple Pay and Similar Payment Wallets
Apple Pay is probably the best-known payment system that allows payments through mobile wallets on their devices. There are others, though, to consider as well. Payment wallets differ from the NFC payment systems in that direct contact is required between the mobile device and the payment processor.
Apple Pay allows customers to make payments on the go by tapping their mobile phones or Apple watches to the payment processor rather than requiring them to carry around their physical credit cards or cash, making it an ideal choice for businesses like food trucks, convenience stores, and anyone based in downtown areas and rely on customers walking in and browsing on quick breaks when they may have forgotten their wallets.
Email Marketing and Mobile Phone Text Alerts
Mobile phones are the new frontier for marketing. Many people do their shopping via mobile phone, conduct product research by their phones, and check their email through their cellular phones. Create mobile phone alerts that notify customers of events taking place in your stores. It can be a sale, a product premiere, the new spring line, Valentine’s Day specials, and countless other events that take place throughout the year.
You can also use SMS or test messaging alerts to notify customers of special offers, coupon codes, and special promotions taking place in your stores. You reach out directly to all your customers who have signed up to receive these special offers with just a few keystrokes.
Store Beacons that Download Coupons when Customers Enter Your Store
If you sign up for Cartwheel and download the app onto your mobile phone, you will receive a banner alert every time you walk into a Target store notifying you of savings opportunities.
Did you know, that you can provide the same service and savings opportunities to your customers? You can have your own version of the Cartwheel app that will remind your customers to check out savings and discounts you’re offering whenever they walk into your store. What a great way to drive sales and increase profits while providing your customers with a service they are sure to love. That builds customer loyalty.
Accept Checks Via Mobile Phone
Some merchant services today allow businesses to accept checks by phone. This can be incredibly useful for businesses that operate on the World Wide Web as it allows you to appeal to an even wider customer base. All thanks to advancements in technology that allow this to be feasible for modern businesses.
All of these technologies allow you, as a merchant, to engage your customers, make the payment process more convenient, and drive sales. Consider adopting one or more into your business today to see what a difference it can make for your bottom line and growth.
{{cta(’51edd623-931a-482a-b603-7cfd7466774f’)}}