The Covid-19 pandemic changed a lot about how we exist in the world. For example, the use of face masks is now standard around the world and is likely to continue long after the pandemic dies down, as is the incessant use of hand sanitizer and surface disinfection. It’s also likely that we’ll adopt the now favorable ‘stay at home when sick’ mantra, and the rise of contactless payments.
Paying for goods and services by tapping the plastic isn’t a new concept, but it has certainly been thrust into the mainstream as the need to maintain social distancing overtook daily life. Prior to the pandemic, whilst lots of businesses allowed customers to pay contactless or by chip and PIN, a lot of them still adopted a card service charge, and many smaller retailers didn’t offer card payments at all.
Following the pandemic, a lot of card charges have been dropped and most businesses now allow a contactless method of payment. There’s seldom a scenario where you can’t introduce a contactless form of payment for business exchanges. If you’re wondering how you can make contact-free or card payments work for all aspects of your business moving forwards, keep reading.
1. Website
The first way you can make your business exchanges contactless is to make sure you have a website. In 2021, having an online presence might seem like the first step setting up a business, but you’d be surprised at the number of businesses that assume a website won’t benefit them or can’t work for them.
There’s almost no business that a website won’t work for, and if you’ve got a product or a service to sell, there’s absolutely no reason why you can’t do it online. The only exception is if a service is bespoke and priced accordingly, but even then, a customized invoice service can be created following a conversation with your website development team or company. If you own an appointment-based service company, in addition to having a stunning website, you also need an easy-to-use online booking system. The best part is that this type of system can connect to your favorite apps and link to your bookable calendar from your company’s website, making the reservation process easier than ever for your customers.
Whether you’re selling manufacturing goods that will be shipped out or if you’re providing an in-salon beauty service, your monetary business exchanges can be made online through a shopping cart or online booking system.
2. Card Payments
Infographic created by Clover Network, a point of sale system company
Aside from having a website, the next most obvious way you can make business exchanges contactless is by implementing the option to pay by card in your brick-and-mortar establishments. Have chip and PIN machines that can take contactless payments available at every checkout and look at other ways you can eliminate the need for cash. Think about car parking and investing in contactless-enabled pay and display machines. We’re not saying completely eradicate cash payments because they definitely have a role to play, but generally speaking, where cash is accepted card can be too, and one way to encourage contactless payments is to make them a standard option alongside cash.
3. Digitise Menus
If you’re in the hospitality industry, consider making your menus digital. A lot of businesses started doing this during the pandemic to reduce the number of people touching menus and spreading germs through doing so. What followed was a lot of people finding this method of dining and drinking preferable because there was no need to juggle a3 menus on a tiny table, no passing menus around because there weren’t enough, and no worrying about the print being rubbed off and the content becoming illegible. All in all, digital menus proved to be more efficient and – best of all – contactless.
If you run a hospitality establishment, it’s a good idea to consider digital menus in a bid to make your business contactless. You could even consider implementing online reservations and payments for full fluidity.
Summary
Contactless payments are set to increase as time goes on. Make sure you’re prepared for the move from cash to plastic by implementing the foundation technology mentioned in this article early.
