Top 5 reasons why contactless payments are the need of the hour

With no clear end date for the pandemic, COVID-19 protocols are most likely here to stay for some time to come, and it’s prudent for every one of us to keep wearing masks, socially distancing ourselves and being cognizant of how much we spend our time in public spaces.

If you are a business that relies on in-store footfall, your customers depend on you in part to keep them safe. The risk of getting COVID-19 is extremely high in an indoor setting, so businesses need to take every precaution to ensure that a customer has as minimal interfaces with each other and the employees as possible. One of the easiest ways you can give them a layer of assurance and bring safety-conscious customers back to the store is by having contactless payment options.

Regardless of the safety reasons, the plausibility of contactless payments becoming the most prevalent and preferred mode of transactions is high in the near future. It will become the go-to form of payment because of its ease, safety and convenience. Most businesses have already invested in the contactless payment infrastructure already. Visa estimates that 80 of the top 100 merchants by transaction volume offer contactless payment options at the checkout counter.

If you still haven’t implemented a contactless payments system, here are five reasons why contactless payments technology is the need of the hour for your business to stay relevant.

1. Lower risk

A big cause of concern for customers is exposure risk through traditional means of payments like cash as well as physical credit and debit cards. Little to no human contact at the time of transactions decreases the risk of transmission and reduces possible exposure to the virus. Contactless payments are the best way to give customers visiting physical stores a sense of safety.

2. Future-proof

Contactless payments are future-proof. With the rise of wearable technologies capable of making payments, the adoption rate will further increase. As more and more technology giants enter the payments space with newer and secure wearables, there will be a cultural shift to accept card-free and wallet-free contactless payments from more and more customers from all demographics.

3. Customer experience

The direct consequence of faster, secure and effortless transactions is a marked improvement in customer experience. They will spend less time at the billing counter, and time saved is money earned. Aside from benefiting the customer, contactless payments also offer efficiencies in the back-office. The technology increases efficiency and accuracy of processing payments.

4. Competitive advantage

The early-mover advantage is significant for businesses to establish a competitive advantage. This way, brands can position themselves as safe, convenient and customer centric. Fast, practical, and straightforward payment methods translate into increased brand loyalty and more revenue for the business.

5. Understanding customers better

With the potential data that could be generated through contactless payments, businesses can understand their customers better, their likes, dislikes, pricing preferences, best sellers, most loved products, wish lists and much more. This way, businesses get a chance to pivot their sales strategies and boost their ROI.

As we continue to live the new normal and navigate the post-COVID world, there’s little doubt we are going to witness a steep rise in contactless payments adoption. The technology is going to be the preferred mode of payment for customers across industries. In order for businesses to stay relevant and provide satisfactory customer experience, they must embrace the change. Relevantz can help you leverage the benefits of contactless payment technology. Our services are designed with our market-proven understanding of the latest technologies, applications, infrastructure, security, operations, industry domains and human-centric design to mitigate transformation risks as you build for the future.