Using contactless payment (Look, No Hands!)

The future has arrived; bring on the flying cars and space food… Debit card contactless payments will transform how we make purchases as a result of technological advancements that will match or even surpass the convenience of online shopping.

Since 1999, the use of debit cards has increased fourfold compared to that of credit cards, and we have grown accustomed to using secure electronic payment methods like PayPal, Verified by Visa, and the other assortment of online channels. Due to its simplicity and convenience, e-commerce (and soon, m-commerce) is displacing traditional retail as consumers prefer it for product research and purchases. Thus, to remain competitive, typical brick and mortar stores are reevaluating their CRM (Customer Relationship Management) strategies. Multi-channel integration is becoming essential in retail, and stores are also looking to technology to increase the usability of their interactions in store, for example:

• Loyalty schemes
• Touch screens for stock checking, product information or reserving items
• Self-service tills

Self-service tills are available in the majority of large supermarkets, which means you theoretically don’t need the assistance of a staff member at any point in your transaction. This trend toward entirely electronic payment may be a sad indication that we are moving away from almost any human exchange while shopping.

Technology is speeding up how we pay in addition to enhancing our shopping experience. It seems like cash is a little dated. Carrying around small change is annoying for customers, and waiting in line behind anyone counting out their pennies at the register is also annoying. Ironically, processing cash costs retailers time and money, and card payments are rapidly increasing. The only issue is using your debit card for small purchases because you run the risk of being charged less than the minimum amount. Contactless cards are now available, cutting the time it takes to pay in half and eliminating the need to carry around a lot of small change. To pay for items up to £15 without entering a pin number, simply hold your card in front of a wireless reader.

In fact, it has been around since the mid-1990s, and banks in the UK have been using it since 2007. 9-12 million cards have been issued so far, meaning 1 in 6 of us in the 50,000 tills are currently processing them in the UK, but this number is expected to double by 2011. The majority of stores already accept them, including me, though I didn’t know it until I wrote this article.

Currently, we have the PayWave by Visa and the PayPass by MasterCard options, both of which provide itemized breakdowns of what customers are spending and where. The technology is tried-and-true and will soon be integrated into mobile phones, enabling the same “hands-free” Near Field Technology (NFT) for small payments and turning your phone into a “Virtual Wallet.” Beyond that is Visa Codesure, a credit card with a built-in keypad and digital display.

It seems ideal for retail in a hurry to reduce queuing, such as: coffee shops; fast food restaurants; newsagents and convenience stores; pharmacies and supermarkets. Contactless payment hopes to increase transaction speed and provide better customer service.

It’s unclear whether this will bring traditional retail and its main rival, e-commerce, closer together, but it will undoubtedly narrow the gap. Will this mean that, in response, e-commerce will advance even more quickly and easily, possibly imitating Amazon’s “one-click-payment” model? For any e-commerce retailer, there are ways to increase the usability and convenience of your checkout stage(s), and optimise the chance of conversions, for example:

• Just get them to the checkout instead of making them register!
• Encourage trust by offering no quibble, free returns and money back guarantees
• Keep shipping low-cost and as fast as you can make it
• Provide accurate representations and clear images of your products/services
• Enable customers to get in contact easily and promise a quick response
• Keep your checkout screens in a familiar format – we naturally distrust pages which look different to what we are used to seeing in internet retail
• Use SEO to optimise your site to increase ranking on SERPs and strengthen your brand authority
• Integrate Social Media into your marketing campaign to connect with and engage customers on a personal level

Last but not least, a little creation of mine: barcode scanning lasers implanted in our brains that shoot out of our eyes when we see something we like in exchange for psychic payment. Ah, I’m way out in front of my time, too soon…