The year 2020 gave us something different than we expected. Especially for small and medium-sized business owners, times could not have been more challenging. This is even more so when looking at businesses that involve the physical presence of both customers and staff such as retail businesses and restaurants.
We saw a lot of innovation happening around these stores, and entrepreneurs came up with new ways of serving their customers. Little of us expected that some of this innovation would come from a card machine. These devices are generally static and do not necessarily provide you with some innovative tools.
Card machine came to the rescue
The card machine can help in multiple ways. The new types of devices that came into the market already help in some ways. For example, you could pay contactless, which increases the safety of the consumers visiting the store. Next, there was the advantage of connecting to smart devices such as an iPad or iPhone. This made it unnecessary to use a cashier system, limiting the interactions between shop owners and cashiers. Additionally, the cashier did not need to type the amount into the payment terminal: this all happened automatically from the smart device.
Easily retrieve a credit card payment
These card machines can also be leveraged for a credit card payment. In the past, it was necessary to type your pin code and place a signature; nowadays, this is way more advanced. For example, you can tap your card, and the payment is completed. You only need to insert the pin code if it exceeds a certain amount. The credit card company typically determines this amount.
Payment links to support your card machine
Card machines can come in handy, but what about lockdowns? Nowadays, We see that people are not able to go to shops as easily as before. This means that people need to order products from home. While some shop owners already had webshops and food delivery systems in place, many did not. How do you overcome this challenge and be able to serve your customers?
Send a link and get started
Clients could call or send a request to the shop owner (e.g., via WhatsApp). Of course, restaurant owners do not want to send food to an address without verifying the payment. This did happen in the past, and sometimes it was a prank call. A waste of time and energy, let alone resources (i.e., food and money). Today a restaurant owner can send a payment link to the respective person. The customer can click on the link and select the desired payment method. Once the payment is completed, the owner receives a notification and starts preparing the food immediately. This provides a safe and user-friendly way for shop owners and restaurants to conduct business without the need for sophisticated systems or third parties.
