Payment systems


Contactless – the future of payments


Payment systems have changed dramatically over the years, with a sudden surge towards contactless due to COVID-19. Here VI looks at how the pandemic is driving this market and what some of the experts expect from the future


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Although contactless payment was already being adopted by many vending operations, the hygiene


benefit of contactless has seen the demand skyrocket this year.


Consumers expect contactless payment everywhere they go now, and


vending is no exception. By adding this payment method to their machines, operators have been able to maintain sales even during the lockdown periods. It’s unsurprising then that the demand for contactless has dealt a hammer


blow to cash as consumers no longer want to handle it and increasingly choose not to carry notes or coins on them. It has been reported that the production of new pennies by the Royal


Mint has declined by about 65% in the last decade, a trend that could accelerate as fewer people use cash. The current circumstances have also seen payment apps taking off like


never before, and this in turn has led to new opportunities in interactive communication between consumers and suppliers. Here’s what some of vending payment solutions experts have to say: Craig Jukes, sales director, EVOCA Group, says: “There’s no doubt that


the COVID-19 pandemic is driving the adoption of payment systems in vending. One report said that, in the first five months of the crisis, the cashless industry progressed to a market position it didn’t expect to reach for another five years. “With the ability to buy goods from machines using contactless payment,


consumers were able to side-step the perceived danger incumbent in ‘dirty’ cash. “However, the installation of payment apps opens a new world of


interactive communication. Communication from one to the other is a two- way street: in the same way that a phone can connect with the machine, so ‘the machine’ can connect with a phone.


24 | vendinginternational-online.com “It’s just the beginning. Once you have people using the app, you can use


that app to communicate with the consumer, traversing the gap that otherwise exists between the user and the coffee machine. “I call it ‘The Amazon Effect: – Now we’re in touch with you and you’re a


user of our services, what else can we do for you? “Through the app portal lies the future of unattended retail marketing. It’s


ironic, but the safety issues surrounding COVID-19 have brought the brave new world of interconnectivity from the middle distance to the here and now.” Darren Anderson, business development manager, self service payments


– Ingenico, a Worldline brand, says: “The most significant shift in the payments industry to evolve from the COVID-19 pandemic has been the sudden fall in the usage of cash. The shift towards contactless and alternative payment methods (APMs), has got to the point where 50% of customers think that cash will disappear completely at some point in the future. “As the ultimate contactless service, the unattended market had been


adapting to cashless trends well before the pandemic struck. Often however, the sticking point for vending operators is that they’re not sure exactly how these technologies work, or how to implement them.


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