It’s all change. Embracing the POS revolution.
The rapidly changing face of point-of-sale has mobilized the need for flexible payment solutions. Factors such as updated regulations and legislation, higher customer expectations and new technologies have meant that system integrators, acquirers and ISOs need to look for more flexible solutions for merchants - to stay competitive.
Strong competition stems from the influx of new entrants into the market, particularly from the UK’s growing FinTech sector, driving new offerings – in fact, the UK has more people working in this sector than Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia combined!
These new entrants have leveraged the rapidly changing payment methods now available to customers such as contactless technology and in–app payment and used these to deliver seamless and flexible point-of-sale solutions.
A flexible, simple and seamless solution
With this backdrop, it becomes clear that it is not possible to sustain market share by simply reducing prices and offering great customer service. What is now needed are POS & payment solutions that are flexible, simplified and cost effective.
Historically, EFTPOS terminals were all-in-one with a large footprint, but mPOS has disrupted this, with modular design that gives freedom and flexibility for merchants. Flexibility in hardware can open new vertical opportunities for retailers, too. They need a flexible payment answer that fits seamlessly into their evolving bricks and mortar strategies, to enable them to put into play their own solutions, to meet customers’ increasing demands.
It’s no longer about payment solutions driving the point-of-sale experience, payment needs to be a seamless aspect of new point-of-sale solutions. Retailers need to move away from fixed, and adapt their plan to optimise staff and all points of interaction with their customers, whether it’s face-to-face in store or remotely online.
Omni-channel is central to customer needs
What customers need and expect has radically changed. For example, the ease and speed of online shopping has modified their expectations about how fast and simple all their payments should be.
This expectation has meant that ‘omni-channel’ has gone from a buzzword to a reality in a relatively short space of time. It’s the logical evolution of a customer-centric strategy, prioritising a consistent, seamless experience across channels as a way to offer a difference. Retailers must fully embrace the fact that today’s customers are switched on enough to check prices online before shopping in store, as well as trying products in the retail environment before deciding to buy online.
To avoid losing their place in the value chain, system integrators, acquirers and ISOs now need to deliver solutions that enable an omni-channel approach, for retailers of all sizes. mPOS and integrated POS platforms are the answer to this, giving retailers the flexibility to take payments anywhere in store, wherever the customer is, with a quick tap of a card or Android/Apple device.
