"Can't TAP This"

 Small moves in contactless result in huge advantage.

 Enabling contactless payments should be a merchant’s practical choice when upgrading to a new payment terminal.  Contactless technology extends a better customer checkout experience, especially in businesses where speed is important, like coffee shops, airport vendors, and quick service restaurants (or anywhere that millennials shop!). In this day of the “Uber payment experience” there is simply no excuse to have contactless disabled on a terminal or PIN pad.  And you can’t always blame the merchant; the truth is—in the rush to get EMV deployed—many vendors neglected to make contactless payments a priority. 

So what’s the big deal?  I ask you to consider the consumer confusion that is the result of merchants making home-made terminal stickers, as illustrated on the photos above. Each “No Tap” sign was most likely born out of a merchant’s response to repeatedly being asked if someone could pay via Apple Pay or Android Pay or contactless-enabled card.

Contactless payment acceptance opens doors to many benefits that can lead to more business for merchants.  Most consumers demand—and expect—quick and easy payment transactions.  Pressed for time, many march with their feet to locations that support a simple tap with their phone or plastic card.  When asked, they will tell you that they prefer to stay in control of their payment and have a fast and frictionless experience, especially for smaller dollar amount purchases.

Contactless delivers other benefits to merchants too.  It enables cash displacement and does away with the challenges associated with cash handling, namely: cost, insecurity, inconvenience and slow checkout. 

The payment industry is working together to introduce new contactless capabilities from the US card brands, NFC-enabled mobile phones, and new entrants on the debit side, including Union Pay and Interac.  At Equinox, our focus is centered on helping clients easily implement these small moves that lead to a huge advantage.

So go ahead and ask: “Why can’t I tap this?”

Bohdan Myroniw, MBA