• Brad Hyett, CEO at phos


• 05.11.2021 11:15 am
#Digital #Payments

As multiple national lockdowns forced physical stores to close last year, and customers demanded easy, cash-free payment options, merchants had to adapt quickly . The result? An increased provision of pay and collect services. As the public grew wary of handling cash due to rising health concerns, mobile payments surged in popularity.

In the UK alone, 83% of people now use contactless payments according to data from the Office of National Statistics. 

So it’s vital that merchants are equipped with the most efficient payment solutions, as the UK heads towards a mobile-first economy.

Consumer expectations

Consumers are demanding better payment services, including reduced queuing times, checkoutless stores, and bespoke loyalty schemes.

Businesses such as Mercedes are pioneering this customer-centric approach, offering an end-to-end digital car purchasing service, so drivers can go through the whole car purchasing journey from the comfort of their own home. This includes car delivery as well as ancillary and after-sales services such as, financing, insurance and more.

The days of waiting for a table at a restaurant are also over, as more people have grown used to booking in advance online or via a mobile app.Hence, it’s important to provide businesses with efficient payment solutions that will allow them to remain competitive.

Innovations in payments

We're seeing merchants embrace more efficient and cost effective payment methods in response to the changing consumer demand. While physical payment terminals are often too expensive for many small businesses, software point of sale, or SoftPoS, enables merchants to turn hardware that they already own - i.e. their mobile device - into a point of sale terminal.

With merchants increasingly adopting these innovative technologies, contactless payments will continue to gain popularity among the general public. In 2020, 13.7 million people in the UK either didn’t use cash at all or only used it to make a single purchase. That’s double the same figure from the previous year.

International growth of mobile payments

Despite a slow start, the US is starting to see increased adoption of mobile commerce too.  In-store mobile payments grew by 29% in the States last year alone.

This growth was primarily fuelled by Gen Z-ers and millennials. Latest projections show that there will be 6 million new mobile wallet users in the US by 2025, with millennials accounting for 4 million of this figure.

The Middle East has experienced similarly sharp increases in contactless payments. From 2019 to 2020, there was a 200% growth in contactless transactions. A recent study showed that 80% of people living in the region planned to continue using contactless payments post-pandemic, with speed and security being the main draw.

A cash free future society

As parts of the world now start to come out of lockdown, there’s an openness to new solutions and a widespread acceptance of new technologies.

It is now a case of when, rather than if, we’ll see a permanent shift to cashless in the future. For businesses, embracing digital innovation will be key to remaining competitive and keeping pace with consumer demand in this fast-changing payments landscape.