It is widely known that the use of cash is on the decline, with the pandemic further accelerating the move away from physical money. It’s essential for businesses to adapt and offer a variety of flexible payment options to their customers to stay current and keep up with changing behaviour. Many consumers now simply expect to be able to purchase goods using contactless or mobile payment methods and so it’s vital for hospitality providers to get their payment offering right to ensure they don’t lose much needed custom.
At Systopia we offer a wide range of payment options that enable the businesses we work with to keep up with evolving consumer payment habits.
Mobile wallets can bring next generation payments into a hospitality setting. Smartphones are now more popular than laptops in terms of how often they are used and mobile wallets such as ApplePay and GooglePay are becoming the norm. A recent report from payment processor WorldPay found a third (32%) of all online purchases were made using mobile wallets during 2020 – this was higher than debit cards which accounted for 29%. While cards remained more popular for in-person purchases it’s predicted that by 2023 a quarter of all smartphone users in the UK will make in-store payments via their smartphone.
It makes sense for businesses to accept payment via mobile devices. For consumers it removes the need to carry a wallet, is fast, efficient, and secure. These mobile options are also compatible with the mySYSTOPIA app which users can link multiple payment cards to as well as the ability to tie in with loyalty schemes. For hospitality providers this can promote repeat business and provide valuable transactional data.
Post-pandemic, as lockdown lifts and consumers start to return to the workplace and venture out more, making the experience as easy and straightforward as possible will mean it’s far more likely consumers will return again. One way to help with this is to make the payment part simple, as there is nothing more off-putting that large queues and then not being able to pay with the method you would prefer.
To hear more about how we can help you transform your business operation contact us on info@systopia.co.uk