Touchless Payments in a Post-COVID World

As the economy begins to reopen, you might feel confident that your business is safe as is. However, your customers and employees might feel differently. And that’s the truth every business is going to have to deal with.

Restrictions are being lifted, but that doesn’t mean COVID-19 has been eradicated and no longer poses a threat. In fact, we’re still far from it, which means it is companies' responsibility to provide a safe environment for not only our customers but for our employees too.

As the world returns to normal -- or new normal -- and more businesses begin to open up, we will need to learn to navigate through an unprecedented landscape. We have to strategize and establish a thoughtful and detailed plan of how to keep everyone safe with COVID-19 still at large. 

Business owners need to take the utmost precaution to evolve our businesses and practices into a safe environment that people trust and feel safe using. In other words, to succeed at reopening our businesses, we will need to gain consumer confidence. This is a critical aspect of any business’ reopening strategy. 

But how can we do this? For starters, we will need to find ways to allow our business to operate without compromising public health or confidence. One way we can do this is by offering contactless payments. Contactless payments provide peace of mind and actually help streamline the entire payment process.

Contactless Payments are Here to Stay

Even long after the pandemic has ended, we will continue to feel its resounding effects. In particular, you will notice an impact on consumer payment habits and the shift to go contactless.

In a recent Mastercard global consumer study, nearly 79% of respondents say they use contactless payments—and that’s not changing anytime soon. 74% of consumers stated they will continue to use touch-free payments in a post-pandemic world.

One of the greatest parts of contactless payments is that even after the novel coronavirus is under control, your customers will continue to opt for this payment method and you will still reap all the benefits it has to offer. 

Safety concerns may have propelled contactless payments into the forefront of discussions surrounding payment solutions, but what you might not know is that it was already steadily climbing there on its own in a pre-COVID-19 world. 

How to Offer Contactless Payments

Previous reservations about contactless payments are slowly diminishing and the number of people opting for contactless payment methods is continuously rising -- especially in the era of social distancing. Contactless payments offer a safe method to conduct transactions without the fear of spreading germs.

Contactless payments come in many forms, but what we are focusing on here is how we can conduct contactless payments with with text-to-pay or paying online options. The payment processor you choose needs to offer these features in order for it to be really a touchless payment.

Another alternative is a mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) solution. An mPOS is a wireless and portable point of sale solution on a smartphone or tablet that carries out all the same functions as a traditional POS (cash register) plus more. However, it needs to support contactless payments (either with an NFC reader or manually entering in the credit card information to avoid contact).

For GoSite's payment processor, to complete transactions all you are required to do is download a mobile app and have a designated mobile device to accept mobile payments on or you can access and manage your payments online through the dashboard. 

Benefits of Contactless Payments

In addition to its safety benefits, GoSite's complete payment processor offers an efficient, convenient and secure way for customers to make transactions. Unlike other businesses that require you to attach additional hardware like a magstripe, EMV chip reader, near-field communication (NFC) reader, or Bluetooth card reader, GoSite’s Payments tool requires no additional hardware..

GoSite's Payment feature allows customers to use almost any method of payment that works for them. This includes credit cards, debit cards, SMS text payments, and more. Customers will also have the option to pay in advance or in real-time.

Customers can pay directly from their phones simply by sending a SMS text message or entering their card information online. This can all be done in the mobile app without ever making any kind of physical contact or any in-person interaction whatsoever.

This flexibility provides the utmost convenience for customers because they pay on their terms when it works for them in a safe and comfortable way.

Offer the Safest Payment Solution

Whether you know it or not, customers are concerned that the POS terminal and cash used in transactions can potentially be virus loaded vehicles of COVID-19 transmission. If we disregard this fear, we risk throwing away a decent amount of business. Probably not the kind of message we want to send to customers.

It’s up to us to decide whether or not we want to provide a payment solution that customers feel safe using. Offering touch-free payment options can help us provide that assurance because we can allow customers to make contactless transactions like text to pay, mobile payments, or paying in advance.

As the new normal is being established, it’s important for us to abide by these new health and safety guidelines and expectations. We don’t want to be that business -- the business that breaks the new social norm. We might not be thinking about the danger that comes with some transactions, but customers will be.

How you respond to the pandemic and what the safety precautions you take to ensure the safety of your customers is critical. All eyes are on you and what you do matters. So before you make any decisions, think about not only your future but the future of your business. Are you going to provide the safest payment solution?