The World as we know it will never be the same again. A mental shift has occurred, and this will change consumer behaviour for the rest of the year at the very least. In this article, we’ll give you some insights into where the payments industry is going and how you can prepare your business for POST COVID-19 Lockdown.
Contactless / Tap and Go Payments
Every time your customer touches the PIN pad on your card machine, they’ll be thinking about the possible spread of disease and wondering or looking around for alternative means to pay. You can reassure them by offering “tap and go” or “contactless transacting”. Most card machines have this enabled so be sure to find out how to activate or start the function on your device. If the amount is above R500, they will need to enter a PIN on the device so offer them a quick disinfectant spray before or after using the device. See our user guides here
Scan to Pay Options
China has exploded with Scan to Pay technology, even before COVID-19 because it’s such a versatile and convenient way to pay. Most online banking apps have scan to pay built into the app or a separate MasterPass app should be available on the App stores for banks that don’t. Cardholders can leave their homes without a wallet and pay securely at most retailers using their phones. This technology is sure to become more popular in South Africa now too so we recommend adding this to your bouquet of services and putting the QR codes up near your till point for customers to use if they don’t want to make use of your physical card machine device.
An online payment page
Social distancing will be around for most of 2020 so we suspect many people will prefer to do their shopping from the comfort of their couch, that is, if they can still stand the sight of their couch after so many weeks of being on it during lockdown! Jokes aside, it’s time to get your business online. If you don’t have a website yet or you offer a service or only a few products, opt for something like a Payment Page. This can be integrated into your social media pages or posts, your invoices or sent to clients via WhatsApp or email. You don’t need any technical knowledge to get this going, we’ll set it up for you and send you the link for clients to start making payments.
An online store
If you’re in the retail industry or have many products, we suggest you start building on your online store sooner rather than later. Companies like Pick n Pay and Woolworths have definitely had the upper hand during Lockdown as they were able to continue doing both brick and mortar sales as well as online sales during this time. In fact, Woolworths held a 20% – 50% clothing and homeware sale during Lockdown of all their non-essential goods with a deferred delivery date (after lockdown) and sold out! If your business is classified as “non-essential”, you may just get the opportunity to do the same during the lockdown as people are sitting at home and browsing the internet ready to shop. They also don’t seem to mind waiting for their items to arrive after lockdown.
If you’re overwhelmed by the costs of getting a website started, we can refer you to our sister company www.cardpayments.co.za They offer a monthly package option and will help you set up a basic site with the first 10 products to get you started.
Alternatively, you can DIY a website in no time with the help of www.businessboom.co.za who will teach you the basics to get you started.
