Tablets at all touchpoints: The flexible future of payments

In recent years, mPOS has given retailers the freedom to transact in different places, improving the customer experience and freeing up valuable retail space that would historically have been used for countertop POS. It’s been a cost-effective payment solution, giving micro-merchants and smaller businesses with limited resources a flexible way to do more business face-to-face.

This reality has now changed, as enterprise-class businesses have also shown an interest in the solution. Today, merchants want to combine a secure mobile card reader with a tablet (not a smartphone) as it uses a larger interface to run more complex applications – while staying fully portable. This enterprise-class of business is also seeking the highest levels of certification and security.

Tablets are a total solution

Whatever the size, scale or sector of business, tablets can be used across all - becoming the flexible payment solution for a broader range of market segments, industries and verticals.

Tablets can take on much more. They have a larger user interface and can do more than just accept payments. They can run powerful business applications and perform many critical functions a lot better than a smartphone.

In addition, employees can use tablets to check stock, upsell items, analyse sales reports and manage other aspects of their retail environment.

Employees can also tap into easy and accessible training. Tablets are intuitive and it's easy to learn how to use them. In reality, though, most employees will already be familiar with tablets so actual on-boarding should take a minimum amount of time.

Benefits for developers

For software developers, tablets offer versatile hardware on a familiar platform. They give flexibility across different verticals and use cases, with the scope to design and develop business applications with one piece of hardware. As tablets are built using platforms such as iOS, Android and Windows, even a change of platform is simplicity itself. Apps can then be quickly and easily distributed and pushed out to their customers’ devices. With software as a service, regular revenue can be created by charging monthly fees for the app and its add-ons.

Benefits for merchants

Keeping customers happy in a demanding retail environment is a top priority these days. Tablets are the complete package for enhanced customer experience, giving a personalised, convenient payment experience in any and every location.

Businesses can add value and engage their customers anywhere – bringing to life tangible benefits on an attractive, easy-to-read screen.

A tablet solution also has the potential to rejuvenate the entire retail environment; updating a store’s appearance without the restriction of multi-lane counters and the need for a significant expenditure.

Brand perception can be further enhanced by tablet POS since they are professional-looking, sleek, lightweight and effortlessly mobile.They allow merchants to provide a personal, tailored customer experience, creating interactions that lead to brand loyalty and repeat business.

The future is flexible

Recent research reveals that, by 2021, tablet-based mobile POS terminals will handle over 20% of all retail transactions*. So, clearly, tablet POS is the future of flexible payments. With countless benefits, it’s no wonder that demand for it is increasing dramatically, making it an essential competitive consideration for all merchants across all industries.

If you’re considering putting a dynamic payment solution into action, do get in touch with us at Miura Systems.


*Source: Juniper Research (2016) 'POS and mPOS Terminals'