By: Brad Hyett, CEO of phos
Between 2020 and 2025, cashless payments are set to grow by over 80%. At the same time, the battle for market share within industries is becoming more intense. In such a business climate, staying competitive is vital for both – survival and success. Adopting modern payment solutions is a prerequisite to optimally using the firm’s scarce resources and maximising revenue. However, many companies are struggling to keep up with emerging technology and are using outdated payment systems not compatible with the demands of the modern consumer.
These traditional payment systems rely on hardware like pin-and-chip machines, which do not provide flexibility or scalability for digital-first consumers. They are costly to purchase and maintain and are often not compatible with the latest developments in the industry, which puts companies at a disadvantage and sets them up for failure in the future.
A better alternative is software point-of-sale (SoftPoS), which leverages cloud-based technology and provides a scalable and cost-effective payment solution that can be integrated seamlessly into a merchant’s existing systems.
Stagnant paytech has no place in a rapidly evolving industry
The payment landscape is anything but stagnant. New devices and trends are emerging and being adopted at a rapid pace, and payment terminals need to match the rate of evolving consumer habits. For example, today’s buyers want speed and convenience. They are not keen on standing in long queues, which are a common sight in stores that rely exclusively on traditional PoS systems.
Some shoppers are also becoming increasingly accepting of newer payment
methods, such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, cryptocurrencies, PayPal, and Buy Now, Pay Later at the PoS checkout. Early adopters of technology are regularly using biometric tools such as fingerprints and facial recognition to make payments. As systems advance, end users will only move towards newer, quicker, and more convenient payment methods. Making a chip-and-pin machine compatible with these novel techniques requires costly hardware upgrades. On the other hand, SoftPoS is capable of incorporating these changes into a business’ payment system with a simple software update on any NFC-enabled device, which can be performed quickly and remotely, thus helping companies meet customer expectations.
Enhancing security without compromising on profits
With both digital transactions and data breaches being on the rise, customers and businesses are becoming increasingly conscious about the security of their payments, especially since cyber attacks are expected to increase by 105% by the end of the year. While traditional payment systems and regulations struggle to keep up with these challenges, newer technologies like SoftPoS offer enhanced security features to protect enterprises and their audiences from fraud and data breaches.
Accreditations such as the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council’s (PCI SSC) CPoC add an additional layer of security and reassure sellers of the fact that their payment system is indeed protected, even when they are using everyday devices like NFC-enabled smartphones and tablets to take payments.
Additionally, all the data accessed by a SoftPoS app is encrypted and sent to the servers in a secure manner. This means that irrespective of whether customers and merchants rely on a public or a private network for processing payments, their data is not put at risk.
A long-term solution for payment needs
As businesses grow, so will their payment needs. For traditional systems to keep up with this, firms will need to invest in more pin-and-chip machines. This is a costly endeavour and eats into a significant proportion of the company’s scaling budget. SoftPoS, on the other hand, is more cost-effective to set up, use, and scale.
SoftPoS provides growing enterprises with the support and flexibility they need to expand and cater to fluctuations in areas of operation, transaction volumes, and other changes in market conditions. It’s a great tool for businesses looking to enter new markets, as it helps merchants easily adapt to new payment methods and currencies without overhauling their hardware. Moreover, SoftPoS enables companies to start accepting payments right away, thus maximising profit potential from the get-go.
As the business landscape evolves and firms are faced with a constant stream of technological innovations, they need to find a way to future-proof their enterprises or else, they risk being washed over by the next tide of tech advancements. SoftPoS provides merchants with an efficient, easy-to-deploy solution that is also flexible and scalable as per their needs. Its ability to match pace with modernisation is unprecedented and can empower companies to thrive in the digital age.