You may have watched a movie at some point in your life where the concept of artificial intelligence (AI) captured your attention and left you imagining a world where it exists. You’re not the only one. Since the mid-20^th century, scientists and researchers have been on the course of making AI a reality for future generations.

Artificial intelligence (AI) makes it possible for machines to learn from experience, adjust to new inputs and perform human-like tasks. Using deep learning and natural language processing, computers can be trained to accomplish specific tasks by processing large amounts of data and recognizing patterns in that data. Here is just a handful of what AI can do:

• Automate repetitive learning and discovery through data
• Find meaning in language
• Adapt through progressive learning algorithms
• Analyze more and deeper data and make predictions based on that analysis
• Protect from Cyber Attacks
• Write music
• Recognize human faces and emotion

 

In addition to the benefits above, AI has become increasingly popular in the point of sale (POS) market. It provides consumers with the ability to both handle virtually all payment methods, as well as layer on customer loyalty, additional convenience and rewards. Join us as we look at some of what AI can accomplish within the POS world:

Contactless Payments

Contactless payments are all the rage right now, with strong trends further accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Both allow customers to complete transactions with credit and debit cards, smartphones, and other devices that use radio-frequency identification (RFID) or near field communication (NFC) for making secure, no-contact payments. Customers simply hover their card or device of choice over the contactless reader to complete the transaction. It is a quick and easy solution that will not only keep customers safe but also decrease checkout time. AI-powered POS technology is able to walk customers through the checkout process and complete payments for them.

Enable Unattended Retail Experiences

AI is enabling retail to go unattended – moving goods and services into more locations, and bringing speed and convenience to consumers where they live, travel, play and work. As unattended retail becomes more sophisticated – buoyed by digital payments and AI – consumers are getting a self-service experience that is similar, or better than they get with an attendant in a brick-and-mortar store. Machines can identify you by facial recognition, remember your preferences, make recommendations, remember your preferred payment method and reward you for your repeat business, all without ever talking to a live person. The proliferation of the smart phone brought with it a consumer base that is accustomed to self-service and often seeks it out as a preference. Again, COVID-19 health concerns are only aiding in the growing popularity of these unattended experiences – a bright spot for retailers looking to expand and grow.

Answer Questions

One of the most frustrating encounters is when you are trying to use an unattended payment system and it does not cooperate. You are left dazed and confused with no one to communicate with. AI enables you to avoid this situation altogether. Much like Apple’s Siri product, POS providers are incorporating voice recognition software into their systems to assist customers through the checkout process. Now, if you have a question, you can simply ask the machine and it will have a preprogrammed response.

Perform Mundane Tasks

One of the greatest benefits of AI is that it has the capabilities to handle complex tasks, freeing employees of time-consuming and overwhelming work. This allows employees to increase overall organizational productivity, as well as direct more of their time and energy toward creating relationships and building their business. AI can perform a variety of tasks including arranging product pickups, customized screenings, inventory, and performing payment transactions.

Facial Recognition

Face recognition is not necessarily a new approach, as it’s a common feature in many smartphones today. However, as AI becomes increasingly popular and expands more into the POS market, we are likely to see it incorporated into payment terminals and other devices as well. The hope is that AI will be able to identify age, gender, and other aspects that may affect what an individual would order at a specific moment. This will allow companies to collect consumer data such as a person’s recent orders and create a more personalized customer experience based off that information.

Voice Ordering   

Another benefit of AI within POS is its voice recognition capabilities and the ability to understand multiple languages. POS devices now have the bandwidth to be programmed with a variety of dialogues, making it more user-friendly for those who wish to communicate with others who speak a different language. Customers can complete orders and ask questions without the fear of being misunderstood. This is especially useful in common areas such as airports, shopping malls and restaurants.

To stay ahead of the competition and create the most efficient and successful customer experience, businesses must keep track of current market trends including the rise of AI-powered POS technology.

ID TECH and Artificial Intelligence

ID TECH is expanding its product offering to incorporate each of these AI functionalities.  As a leader in contactless technologies and unattended payment solutions, ID TECH already offers an established lineup of NFC readers for accepting contactless payments.  In addition to its current products, ID TECH is developing innovative technologies to enable customers to integrate touchless operation, voice commands, facial recognition, and remote operation and device management into their everyday payment solutions.

ID TECH has also worked with its valued partners to integrate ID TECH products into their solutions.  For example, ViaTouch Media, Inc.’s VICKI is an AI Powered Smart Store that offers a touch free, unattended retail experience using ID TECH’s VP3300 OEM for payments. Ahead of its time, VICKI is a virtual attendant that can answer product related customer questions, arrange for advanced product pick-ups, and more. Plus, VICKI promotes social distancing and has COVID-19 virus killing technology that uses UV-C light to routinely clean products and interior surfaces after each customer use.

To learn more about the VICKI and the VP3300 OEM, download our case study here.

About ID TECH

ID TECH has established a solid reputation in the industry as a leading payment peripheral provider with magnetic stripe, EMV contact, and EMV contactless expertise. We are also an OEM payment solution provider with the capability and willingness to customize solutions to fit our customers’ needs. With a strong foundation and continued success rooted in card readers, ID TECH is currently expanding its reach in the ever-evolving payments industry.

To learn more about ID TECH, please visit our About Us page.

---

 

In our previous article, we discussed Payment Trends in the Vending Industry and the technological advancements that have resulted from the changes in consumer behavior. Now, we will look at how mobile payment solutions are being rapidly adopted and integrated in stores and services across the world.  Applications such as PayPal, Apple Pay and Google Pay are becoming increasingly popular as the years go by. In fact, the mobile payments market is expected to reach a value of $4.69 trillion by the year 2025.

As mobile payments skyrocket, companies are investing in mobile payment technology and paying close attention to consumer behavior to get a better grasp of their payment preferences. Here are some of the top payment trends in the mobile industry right now:

Increase in mPOS

Mobile-point-of-sale (mPOS) technology allows businesses to take their payment solutions wherever their customers may be. With mobile payment solutions, they can accept payments even when they’re not physically in their designated storefront.

Take popular fast food restaurant Chick-fil-A, for example. When their drive thru is busy, oftentimes they have their employees walk around to each car with a mobile device where they then take your order and complete your payment. This allows them to speed up the checkout process and get their customers on their way faster.

More In-Store Mobile Payments

Many businesses have had the option of accepting mobile payments for some time now, however customers still preferred to pay with cash or credit card. Now, contactless payment methods provided by mobile companies such as Apple, Samsung, and Google are being adopted at a higher rate than ever before. Because they offer mobile wallets that allow consumers to pay without touching any payment terminals, along with the extra benefit of additional security and authentication features, customers have been more inclined to pay for their purchases with their mobile device.

While mobile wallet payments only amounted to $75 billion in 2016, they are forecasted to grow to $500 billion by the end of 2020 – or about 80% over five years. Visa reports that already “29% of Americans now make zero weekly purchases with cash, with the percentage of people who use cash for everything dropping from 24% to 18% since 2015.”

Biometric Authentication

Payment industries have long been looking for advanced security methods to ensure sensitive data is safe from outside tampering. Face and finger scanning are two of the top mobile security measures available right now and are quickly replacing passwords and other authentication measures.

As mobile payments increase, we are likely to see an increase in biometric authentication as well. Biometric authentication is used in computer science as a form of identification and access control. It has become a reliable way for merchants to verify the identity of their customers and partners, and has also proven effective for preventing mobile wallets from being hacked.

E-Commerce to Drive Mobile Payments

We live in a world where convenience is everything to customers. The increase in mobile devices has sparked the growth of the e-commerce industry and customers are turning to their mobile devices to purchase groceries, shop their favorite stores, and everything in between. According to the E-Commerce Foundation, more than 25% of consumers purchase via mobile devices weekly rather than in-store.

Especially with the current COVID-19 climate, customers are more likely to shop online to comply with social distancing and stay-at-home orders. During these unprecedented times, many companies are providing free shipping and other incentives to customers who choose to do business via their mobile device.

ID TECH’s Mobile Solutions

ID TECH offers a variety of payment solutions for various industries including ATM, loyalty, parking, transit, and vending. Of those solutions is ID TECH’s VP3320S, a PCI PTS 5.X SRED mobile payment device that supports all contactless payment methods from tap-and-go cards to payments from mobile wallets. It is able to connect to iOS and Android host devices and is housed in an ultra-compact design, making it the ideal unit to be integrated into a mobile payment solution.

Learn more about our mobile solutions here.

About ID TECH

ID TECH is a leading global payment peripheral provider with expertise in magnetic stripe, EMV contact, EMV contactless, and OEM customization solutions. We have a strong foundation and continued success rooted in card readers and are always expanding our product offering to provide innovative solutions for the ever-evolving payments industries. Payment Security is an integral part of our product offering, and ID TECH as a company prides itself at being at the forefront of payment security in our design, development, manufacturing, and sales processes.

To learn more about ID TECH and our dedication to achieving payment security, please visit our about page.

 

In the last few weeks, we have discussed how COVID-19 is impacting payments in the vend’ing and mobile payments industries. Now, we will look at how the global pandemic has affected payments in the transit industry.

The transit industry’s evolution is constantly updating based on the needs of passengers. Contactless technologies were introduced and adopted into the transportation industry years ago with different closed loop payment systems across the world. This has expanded and evolved to where students are now able to use their student ID cards for transportation payments and bus riders are able to use their bus cards for exchanges at train stations. However, the arrival of the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, has created a demand for transit payments to update their technologies even further by accepting contactless EMV payments directly from commuter’s contactless bank cards and mobile wallets.  With this new ability to make contactless payments with their bank cards and mobile phones, commuters can avoid touching payment terminals and reduce the amount of cards and cash that they need to handle, reducing the amount of potentially contaminated surfaces that they touch.

Latin America Advancements

As we discussed in our Latin America Transit Adopts EMV Contactless Payments Amid COVID-19 Pandemic blog, Latin America has made evolutionary changes towards their bus validator technologies. Ticket integrators across Latin America are aiming to reduce the use of cash and metro cards in the transportation system by deploying new bus validators with contactless EMV technologies. This decreases cost and increases efficiency by eliminating metro cards as middlemen and allowing passengers to use their EMV bank cards directly. In addition, the ability to pay for fares with credit cards and mobile phones eliminates the need to recharge a metro card and reduces the number of cards that commuters need to handle. These payment updates are necessary for the evolving needs of the public because maintaining health and safety is paramount in uncertain times like these.

Delays in America

America has lagged behind in the adoption of contactless technology as a whole, but the arrival of COVID-19 has propelled America to make innovative changes to the way payments are accepted. The retail and mobile industries have seen the largest pushes, with many businesses acquiring contactless and mobile solutions to meet the demand that COVID-19 has caused. However, while the pandemic has kickstarted the adoption of contactless payments, it has also caused further delays.

New York’s MTA had begun installing their new One Metro New York (OMNY) system to allow direct, contactless payments from bank cards and mobile wallets, as well as the ability to combine fare payments and mobile ticketing across subways, buses, and commuter rails. This is a necessary update for a high-risk city like New York where the health and safety of commuters is in constant danger of infection from contaminated transportation vehicles.  Unfortunately, MTA’s installation of the OMNY system has been delayed until December due to concerns that workers may become infected by COVID-19.

The Necessity of Contactless

While other industries don’t necessarily have to adopt contactless technology to survive virus spread, the opposite is true for the transportation industry. People have become weary of public transportation and there has been a 21% increase in car purchases, while over 60% of people who previously commuted are now using private transportation instead. People are distrustful of encountering public transportation surfaces and other passengers who maybe infected while traveling. As a result, that transit industry is making the necessary changes to increase safety and sanitation to gain commuter’s trust again and earn back the travelers they have lost.

The transit industry has had multiple growths and setbacks during the rise of COVID-19. As restrictions are lifted and more commuters begin to navigate public transportation once again, we can only wait to see what new payment technologies and innovations are introduced into the transit industry.

To learn more about ID TECH’s transit solutions, click here.

About ID TECH

ID TECH is a leading global payment peripheral provider with expertise in magnetic stripe, EMV contact, EMV contactless, and OEM customization solutions. We have a strong foundation and continued success rooted in card readers and are always expanding our product offering to provide innovative solutions for the ever-evolving payments industries. Payment Security is an integral part of our product offering, and ID TECH as a company prides itself at being at the forefront of payment security in our design, development, manufacturing, and sales processes.

To learn more about ID TECH and our dedication to achieving payment security, please visit our about page.

 

Last week we discussed how COVID-19 is impacting payments in the vending industry.  Today we will look at how the global pandemic has affected the mobile payments industry.

Mobile payments are a growing trend that multiple industries utilize for convenience and faster checkouts. However, the arrival of the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, has created a greater demand for mobile payment solutions to increase the speed, safety, and security of business transactions.  Since consumers have been forced to drastically change their purchasing habits, businesses have had to respond with newer, safer technology to maintain customer safety. Now, as businesses begin to open up again, mobile solutions are being deployed and mobile wallets are being accepted because businesses want to extend extra protections to themselves as well as their customers for safety purposes.

The Power of Line Busting

Mobile solutions were intensely popular upon release. However, they experienced delays in countries like the U.S. when businesses began to drag their feet and delay new technology investments. This resulted in a gap between the availability in developing technologies versus the actual support and deployment of said technologies in real world settings. However, mobile solutions and mobile wallets have now begun to rise again in the face of this pandemic.

There are two kinds of mobile solutions: solutions that attach to phones, and solutions that accept contactless payments via mobile wallets. Both have strong ties to retail because of their ability to minimize lines while speeding up and improving a customer’s in-store purchasing experiences. As COVID-19’s spread has become more prevalent and businesses have limited the amount of customers who can enter their stores,  line busting—completing a sales transactions with a mobile solution so customers don’t need to stand in line—is being used to reduce wait times and quicken transactions. As a result, the now normal line of customers waiting outside of a business has seen a decrease in length and in wait time.

Secure Mobile Payments

The arrival of new technology always brings new critics along with it. Many times, when new payment methods and technologies are developed, consumers ask the same question: “Is my data going to be safe?” Mobile payments are as secure as any other payment method as long as they have current security certifications and safety measures in place.

Misconceptions around the security of mobile payments are another reason why the segment’s   growth has been hampered but COVID-19 has brought in a changed perception and we are now seeing more and more consumers reaching for their smartphone for faster checkouts. However, there was never anything to fear because mobile wallets tend to use digital tokenization, or replacing sensitive cardholder data with a virtual account number, to ensure users have safe transactions.  Each mobile wallet utilizes tokenization differently, but consumer information is never plainly kept in a mobile wallet; all sensitive data is at least partially encrypted.

Mobile solutions that allow the acceptance of payments on mobile devices are also secure as well. While many are not physically connected to countertop POS systems, they still use the same encryption methods that other POS systems do. Cards that are processed through mobile solutions can only be decrypted by acquiring banks and are safe in merchant environments. As a result, it is as impossible to extract data from mobile solutions as it is from any other solution.

The Rise of Mobile Wallets

Apple, Samsung, and Google all offer mobile wallets, or encrypted card information stored on a mobile device, for contactless, mobile transactions. Even Facebook is creating Facebook Pay to compete with the other payment applications. In the face of COVID-19, many mobile wallet sceptics have turned to the new technology to prevent infection from physically inserting or swiping their payment cards with potentially contaminated payment devices.  Mobile wallet payments allow consumers to make contactless payments without touching any payment cards or payment terminals, making them the most hygienic option for transactions. The sudden arrival of COVID-19 has caused a huge shift in consumer’s daily lives and has resulted in them being forced to be comfortable in engaging with new mobile and contactless technologies to keep themselves safe.

The mobile industry has made huge growth strides in the face of a deflating economy, and as businesses continue to open and navigate payments during COVID-19, mobile payments are sure to develop and spread across all industries even farther.

To learn more about ID TECH’s mobile solutions, click here.

About ID TECH

ID TECH is a leading global payment peripheral provider with expertise in magnetic stripe, EMV contact, EMV contactless, and OEM customization solutions. We have a strong foundation and continued success rooted in card readers and are always expanding our product offering to provide innovative solutions for the ever-evolving payments industries. Payment Security is an integral part of our product offering, and ID TECH as a company prides itself at being at the forefront of payment security in our design, development, manufacturing, and sales processes.

To learn more about ID TECH and our dedication to achieving payment security, please visit our about page.

 

Contactless payment methods have gradually increased in popularity across the world, but COVID-19 has propelled many countries and industries to quickly adopt new technology into their payment solutions. As the novel coronavirus becomes more prevalent, we are seeing a growing desire for limited contact with cash and payment devices to prevent spread of the disease. As a result, the demand for contactless payments has increased in all industries. Retail has begun to evolve by offering NFC payments and self-service checkout kiosks to promote customer safety, and now the transportation industry has begun to advance as well.

Evolving payment methods are becoming the norm and transit systems are having to adapt to a cashless and contactless society.  Countries across Latin America have decided to include multiple payment options to reduce cash and metro card usage. Now there is a focus on other payment methods such as QR codes and EMV contactless payments using debit and credit cards. While this endeavor is for customer safety, it benefits operators by decreasing costs and commuters by increasing efficiency.

In Peru, cashless transactions have increased to 50% of all their transactions since COVID-19 has begun. The Executive President of the Urban Transport Authority for Lima and Callao began offering transportation subsidies to operators who adopt EMV card readers to match cultural payment changes. Transportation officials are hoping this will result in transactions that are safer for customers and their sensitive information.

Along with Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, the city of Curitiba, Brazil will install new validators that allow commuters to use their own EMV cards for tickets, in addition to the existing NFC metro card payment options.  The ability to pay for fares with credit cards provides added convenience to commuters, eliminates the need to recharge a metro card, and reduces the number of cards that commuters need to handle.

ID TECH is currently working with several Ticket Integrators all over the world to allow EMV to be adopted into Latin America public transportation transactions. Validators are being deployed in several cities and use NFC technologies from ID TECH’s Kiosk IV to fulfill their promise to regulate transportation access through a secure ticketing system. The Kiosk IV is a rugged, contactless NFC reader that accepts both contactless payments and mobile wallets. Validators using the Kiosk IV accept both closed and open loop payments while quickly processing priority information for speedy payment acceptance. The combination of the two enables passengers to have a fully integrated, seamless transit experience.

While these payment updates are necessary for the evolving needs of public health and safety, they are sure to have a positive impact on both commuters and public transportation as well. The world is continuing to adopt new payment methods and Latin America has made huge strides by accepting EMV cards for public transportation.

Learn more about ID TECH products at https://idtechproducts.com/.