4 Things to Know about Contactless Technology

Author: Andrew Dvirnyk

By this point, we all should know that contactless technology is convenient, easy to use, secure, and future-ready. But these contactless technology basics are not what we are focusing on today. We are looking at the four things to know about contactless technology so you can better implement it into your business.

Contactless Technology is Not Only for Payments

Speaking of the basics, although most individuals (and many businesses) associate contactless technology with payments, that is not the only environment where we deploy them.

In fact, contactless technology is used for security, for access to buildings, and for transit, among other applications.

For different companies there are different changes to introduce new or contactless technologies

Ultimately, the goal of all businesses is to evolve to the point at which they can best serve customers. This means they aim for efficiency across all processes. It also means they seek out the most efficient technologies that serve their customers seamlessly. Contactless technology puts customer convenience front and center. It also improves the speed of service from suppliers, hitting business targets from both sides.

With this comprehensive utility, contactless technology is not limited to payment processing, even though that is what tends to get the most attention. Customer convenience and efficiency notwithstanding, contactless technology does present a set of complexities in whatever environment it is implemented.

Those complexities include migrating and supporting the technology. To address these complexities, companies like ours must provide a new level of service to support contactless technologies.

Mindset Shift to Meet Customer Needs

Contactless technology is an example of a mindset shift to meet customer needs. It is a prime example of technology that serves the customer, rather than technology for its own sake.

So, where does that come from? It comes from global changes in the ways we do business. And how customer expectations are changing. In so many cases, transportation authorities and other services are dealing with more people concentrated in the same place. We see this with our railway clients who come to us for contactless technology.

They are recognizing a new demand for contactless technology. And for the services to support that technology in ways that enable them to serve their customers better. Their customers demand speed, more than anything. Contactless is the first step to meeting that demand.

This is an exciting time for contactless. With more demand comes more of a push for technology adoption, straight from the customer. That is the surest way to move towards SMARTer cities and to see contactless and other innovative technologies help more cities grow and thrive around the world.

Contactless Technology ROI

In many cases, you can get a better return on investment (ROI) with contactless than with other technologies. And you can see those returns more quickly. For this, let’s take a look at contactless payment.

If you are a small vendor and you want to accept credit or debit, in the past, you needed to purchase at least one expensive piece of hardware. This is an overhead cost that can take a long time to recuperate. On the other hand, with contactless, a vendor does not need to invest in new hardware. Your point of sale (POS) device is the software, not hardware. It is cheaper to purchase and to maintain.

Environmentally Responsible

When there is no hardware, there is also no e-waste. Because contactless technology does not require a special device to accept payment, for instance, you avoid the negative environmental impact associated with hardware. Both on the production side and on the disposal side, you are saving energy. And you are keeping harmful metals, plastics, and other materials out of the environment.

Devices do not need to be replaced. So, electronics waste stays out of landfills. Instead, you are able to accept payments using just an application. With contactless payment, you no longer need to provide paper receipts, adding to a reduction in the environmental impact of sales transactions.

To learn more about contactless technology and whether it is the right decision for your business, contact us.