The smartphone as an all-in-one payment terminal
Earlier in this report, we touched on mobile payments for consumers. However, for merchants, the greatest advantage is in their smartphone’s ability to become an all-in-one payment terminal.
In 2019 we will see off-the-shelf devices like smartphones and tablets become an integral part of the payment chain. These smartphone terminals can process payments via QR codes, debit cards, contactless payments, or wallet/app payments via the customer’s smartphone.
The whenever-wherever economy
Using your smartphone or device as a payment terminal allows for a hardware-to-software approach that any business can use, regardless of budget.
Merchants can centralise one device such that it can do everything in the ecosystem – and it’s available off the shelf so it’s a perfect solution for up-and-coming businesses.
The ability to turn a regular smartphone into a payment terminal, without any additional hardware, is a huge plus for retailers – and it’s gaining momentum as major card schemes like MasterCard and Visa roll out pilots to connect with Android smartphones for contactless payments.
Of course, it’ll be particularly useful for smaller stores and pop-ups, who can set up and disassemble their shop as needs must – and with ease, given the size of smartphone terminals.
The new merchant ecosystem
A series of circles with the various trends (data, smartphones, compliance, risk management, kiosks, cashless) that overlap with the customer in the middle. Underneath tracks a bar with ‘cybersecurity’ on it, as good security underpins everything, while arrows from the circles point towards ‘data’.