Discover how Android enables merchants to benefit from the digital experience. Our expert, Nicolas Cousinard, Android Product Manager, explains how Android is making traditional cash registers history!

Increasingly, as the consumer experience moves online, convenience is becoming the number one priority. Not only can consumers shop from the comfort of their homes, but they can have products delivered within days, and sometimes even on the same day.

Due to this, when consumers purchase in-store, they do not then want to be faced with the frustration of queueing, or a payment process that goes on far longer than is deemed necessary. Customers can be put off completing a transaction simply by having to fish out a card to type a series of numbers (pin code) into a payment terminal. The introduction of innovations such as Apple Pay and Samsung Pay have made this even more so, with customers’ devices memorising payment details for them, and acting as a contactless card.

As a result, in order to remain competitive and ensure conversions in this fast-paced modern world, retailers are tasked with providing a frictionless experience. But that’s not all. As digital payments systems have developed, so too have data regulations, adding another consideration to merchants’ plates – providing a seamless system without sacrificing security.

Many business owners are notoriously pushed for time, often taking on a multitude of tasks and duties. Dependant on size, this can include running the marketing department, organising logistics, and ensuring the best customer service is being delivered, all at the same time. Unsurprisingly, with so many different facets of a company to be managing, payments processing is not always at the forefront of merchants’ minds. But the fact is it should be, as optimising payments is an essential component in many aspects of the business journey and it should not be overlooked.

By optimising payments, you have the power to create a profoundly positive effect on the user experience (UX), transaction conversion, and provide merchants with crucial data to improve their operations. What’s more it can also enable merchants to monitor their costs efficiently, if they work with the most competitive acquirer for each payment method used by consumers.

Ignoring payments optimisation risks not only alienating and losing customers but also inefficient management of their costs by missing important savings on acquiring fees.

Why you should give it a try too.

Transit systems across the globe are having to adapt and embrace a new normal. Previously, a physical ticket would have been purchased using cash from a manned kiosk but nowadays, it is a very different story. Technological advancements, alongside open payments, have unlocked new possibilities across multiple industries. Furthermore, travellers are expecting more as part of their basic service.

The move towards a cashless society is quickly gathering pace. Cards and alternative payment methods (APMs) are now the norm, and the ways in which these changes are affecting transit systems are far reaching. With that said, I’ll explore the payment trends, the key benefits of these developments and what travel operators need to know.

The days of the physical loyalty card are long gone. People’s shopping habits have evolved, from selecting from an array of cards in a wallet or purse, to now tapping their watch or phone to a terminal and in a matter of seconds a transaction is made. Today’s consumer is so accustomed to quick and easy mobile payments.

Merchants are doing a good job at keeping up when it comes to payment preferences, but many are overlooking the benefits that virtual loyalty schemes can provide. Physical loyalty cards are cumbersome when you have everything else on one device, so they often end up left at home. This leaves customers missing out on great deals, and merchants losing a prime opportunity to reinforce brand loyalty and collect vital customer data.

Furthermore, 75% of shoppers have confirmed they would engage with such schemes if they were available on their smartphone – a huge margin retailers are missing out on if they don’t have an appropriate system. However, there is technology available to make this happen quickly and easily.