Today’s competitive landscape demands new innovations to ensure long-term customer loyalty and satisfaction. While your current payment technology may be sufficient in completing customer transactions quickly and effectively, it may not offer the latest
convenience technology that has become popular in our high-tech society.

In recent years, mobile technology has become an increasingly popular trend in the payment world. Mobile solutions offer businesses the ability to minimize lines while quickening transactions. Line busting—completing a sales transaction with a mobile solution so customers don’t need to stand in line— has become commonplace in popular retail stores to improve a customer’s in-store purchasing experience.

It’s important for businesses to be aware of their customers’ payment preferences and patterns, so they can tailor their solutions to customer needs.

Here are four things merchants should know about mobile card readers:

How Mobile Card Readers Work

In plain language, mobile card readers turn smart devices into payment devices. This allows businesses to accept payments anytime, anywhere. Businesses are finding a plethora of benefits from incorporating mobile card readers into their operations; however, the most significant perks include increased sales, improved customer engagement, and better flexibility for customers. This allows retail businesses to provide a more seamless user experience for their customers.

Helps Grow Your Customer Base

By offering multiple payment options for your customers to choose from, you’re letting them know that you care about their preferences. It’s not about you, it’s about them. Accepting all payment methods signals to your customer base that you sincerely care about their business and are willing to invest in the technology to offer better convenience and flexibility. By accepting more payment types, you’re opening the door to a larger customer base which in return, allows you to increase revenue.

 Speeds Up Checkout Process

If you’re looking to create efficiencies within your business, incorporating a mobile card reader into your operations may be a good place to start. According to an article by Reflexis, incorporating mobile solutions allows merchants to keep pace with their mobile-enabled customers who are continuously purchasing new technologies of their own. Adopting mobile card readers allows customers to avoid long lines by purchasing their items at any location in the store. This will also boost employee productivity by giving them the flexibility and agility to meet customer needs with fewer delays.

Increases Safety of Payments

Many people have the misconception that mobile readers cannot protect cardholder data as safely as a full POS system can. However, mobile solutions that accept payments on mobile devices are completely 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 banks acquiring payment and are safe in merchant environments. Therefore, thieves will have difficulty hacking credit card information. Mobile payments also decrease the amount of time retail employees spend fumbling with cash. Instead, they can use that time to focus on providing customers with excellent service.

The ID TECH Solution

In recent years, more and more merchants have been using mobile solutions to bridge the gap between online and in-person purchasing experiences. The current purchasing experience has evolved and now requires companies to create seamless, personalized experiences where buying merchandise is directly tailored to each customer. Adding mobile solutions allows team members to directly engage customers while providing quick payment transactions. ID TECH provides the point-of-sale hardware that’s equipped with NFC technology to accept all popular payments and mobile wallet apps. Please see our entire line of secure and powerful mobile card readers by visiting our website.

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 page.

 

Digital loyalty programs are becoming an increasingly popular way for businesses to connect with their customers and gain market share. But as the use of mobile payment platforms increase, how do organizations utilize mobile payment hardware to successfully manage and track transactions, while creating an enjoyable purchasing experience?

As a global leader in payment technology, ID TECH is examining loyalty solutions in various industries to see what companies are doing to enhance customer retention and stay ahead of their competition. In our most recent blogs, we examined loyalty trends in the transit and vending industries. Now, join us as we explore the top loyalty trends in the mobile industry:

Loyalty Apps

Loyalty programs are a great tactic that companies can use to show customer appreciation and drive retention. Because we live in a technology-driven world, a majority of consumers have their own smartphone that they take wherever they go. As such, many companies are integrating their loyalty programs into applications. This allows consumers to keep better track of their rewards and influences them to make frequent purchases in order to earn rewards points.

Points and Rewards

Reward points can be earned via mobile app or through an in-store purchase. Customers that are a part of the loyalty program are able to cash in their points for special discount offers or free items. There are multiple ways customers can wrack up points:

• Social sharing to promote sweepstakes
• Checking in on social media and/or their loyalty app
• Participating in special offers, such as ‘Buy 2, Get 1 Free’ etc.
• Participating in gamification incorporations, such as ‘Spin the Wheel’

Mobile Coupons

Because everything is transitioning to mobile, companies are taking things such as coupons and making them available on technology as well. Now, customers don’t have to worry about going out, buying the local paper and cutting up coupons. They can simply subscribe to the store loyalty program and receive mobile coupons via email, text, or mobile app.

In-Store Sign-Ups

Although a majority of people are switching to mobile loyalty solutions, there is still some difficulty when it comes to getting previous generation to participate. To combat this, many companies have employees dedicated to helping them sign up while they’re in the store. They walk them through the process and get them set up.

The ID TECH Solution

ID TECH is a leader in providing innovative loyalty payment solutions to organizations across the globe. Through our new tap-and-go technology, it is easier than ever for your customers to redeem rewards, access concerts and sporting events, and so much more. In this age of online retail, retailers are competing to gain market share with new customers; boost your brand awareness, customer loyalty, and market share with ID TECH’s digital loyalty solutions.

One of our latest loyalty solutions, the VP3300, allows you to incorporate triple-tracks MagSTripe, smart card, and contactless technologies. This all-in-one reader enables the acceptance of NFC/ contactless payments including Google Pay, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Interac, MasterCard MCL, and more. Learn more about the VP3300 and download the datasheet here.

About ID TECH

ID TECH is a leading 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 industry.  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, 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.