Technology evolves quickly in the realm of payment processing. Just a few years ago paying via EVM chip encryption would have been unthinkable but paying with this technology is now the norm. You may be asking yourself, “What are EVM chips and what do they have to do with my business?”. Simply put, EVM chips are what make the ever-so-popular tap to pay option possible.
Tap to Pay is an attractive feature for consumers and businesses alike because it enables users to make quick and secure payments with just the tap of their credit card or mobile device. Paying via cell phone is made possible by allowing credit card holders to store payment information on their mobile device or via an app, so that all they have to do is tap their phone against a contactless card reader at checkout. This contactless technology is important for your business because it drastically reduces transaction time and increases customer convenience, as no physical cards need to be present for the transaction to take place.
As contactless payments and tap-to-pay technologies become increasingly popular, demand for contactless cards continues to grow. According to the Smart Payment Association, contactless card shipments have reached a milestone in 2021 with 2.63 billion contactless cards shipped globally. This figure is an increase of 269 million contactless cards compared to 2020, representing a 76% global share of payment card shipments – up from 69% in 2020 and 59% in 2019.
With demand for tap to pay at an all-time high, now is the time to transition your payment processing hardware and software to a system that will seamlessly allow customers to pay in multiple ways, especially tap to pay.
With a fully integrated tap to pay system you can expect to see many benefits but the most lucrative improvements to your business will come in the following 4 ways:
- Speed
Tap to pay is the fastest way to pay for your purchases. Compared to cash payments, tap to pay is a whopping 63% faster and 53% faster than traditional card payments. The convenience of tap to pay lies in its speed and ease of use – you don’t have to swipe or insert your card or enter your PIN, making it much quicker than other payment methods. Plus, you won’t clog up the checkout line with hunting for cash or forcing the cashier to count out pennies for change.
- Security
Tap to pay is one of the most secure payment methods available, protecting your transaction in three ways:
- Tokenization, which replaces your bank information with a series of randomized characters. Your token is unique to you, so hackers can’t steal or copy sensitive information.
- Encryption that changes for each transaction. Even if a hacker successfully steals this encryption code, since it was only valid for one transaction, it will be totally useless to them.
- Two-factor verification with a PIN or Face ID. While not universal, Apple Pay, for example, asks users to verify each transaction with Face ID.
- Convenience
Imagine this scenario: You’re fifth in line at Starbucks, and the person who just ordered is searching their pockets trying to find a $10 bill. Wouldn’t everyone (including the cashier) prefer they quickly just tapped their card on the payment terminal?
Now say you’re window shopping and find a cool leather jacket, but you’ve forgotten your wallet at home. No worries! The jacket is yours because you can simply tap to pay with your iPhone. In this scenario, the retailer would likely lose the sale if they didn’t accept tap to pay. As a prominent retail expert put it, “Tap to pay is a feature that customers expect all retail stores to have…It’s going to be a disappointment if they don’t.”
Customers have come to rely on the convenience tap to pay offers and you may start losing what would be loyal customers if you don’t offer their preferred payment method.
- Attracting a younger generation of customers
More young people are using tap to pay. Studies show that 65% of young millennials and 57% of Gen Z used a digital wallet in 2021, compared to just 59% and 50%, respectively, in 2020.
While younger generations are flocking to tap to pay technology, it’s important to have as many payment methods available as possible because tap to pay adoption varies widely by region with metropolitan areas having the highest concentration of young adults using this feature.
Choosing the Best Tap to Pay System for Your Business
By now you’re probably ready to make the switch to a POS system with all the bells and whistles that allows tap to pay options. Your next question might be how to go about choosing the merchant processing service that would be best suited for your business while also being the most cost-effective. That’s where we come in.
If you do have questions about which provider might be the best fit for your business needs our skilled Technology Advisors are here to help. We will assess the current solutions you have in place to determine the best provider to help you improve your customer outcomes, save money on hardware costs, and better enable your staff to succeed.