More Technology, More Work to Do

One of the key strategies that payment solutions companies often use to build business, is investing in new technology.  In a world of continuous research and development that leads to continuous advancements in technology, these investments are typically necessary.  However, there are times when acquiring the latest devices or implementing the newest software program is more of an added bonus than a necessity.  Also, there are times when these kinds of investments can present a host of new challenges and sometimes become downright troublesome.  For this reason, it’s important to be critical of your company’s decision to start using new technology and be well-prepared to manage any issues you might experience in the process.

Why should you invest in new technology?  

Part of satisfying merchants is helping them satisfy their own customers.  No matter what industry the business is in, their consumers want to make sure their payments and personal information is secured.  Consumers also prefer to take advantage of the most convenient options when paying for goods and services.  These factors make the responsibility of providing the best and/or newest payment processing technology significant.  But the value of such efforts, depends on a few details:

• Is there any negative implication for NOT updating technology?
• Is there any concrete proof that investing in the technology will improve business?
• Does the benefit of implementation outweigh the potential challenges or cost?

As of late, there are a number of very good reasons businesses are changing their point of sale technology.  The most important of these is the growing importance of cyber security and the emergence of a demand for convenient payments options.  With the United States’ recent shift to EMV, merchants are under pressure to make sure that their businesses are equipped with the right technology to comply with new liability regulations.  This major adjustment of industry standards is just one example of a need for new technology.  The payment solution providers who are ready and willing to relieve this pressure are in a winning position right now.

As other developments like the use of tokenization, NFC payment options, and mobile devices continue to take over, the demand for technology that improves the user experience will continue to grow.  As the industry evolves and shifts toward a “new normal”, maintaining older technology will become burdensome as well.  By keeping up with the rest of the payment landscape, businesses avoid unwanted costs and headache while greatly benefiting the merchants they serve.

What are the risks of updating technology?

Many businesses are afraid of the challenges, and even potential failure, that comes with making a major investment or change.  It is reasonable for a company to have some degree of apprehension in making such a commitment, but challenge or extra effort shouldn't stop you from doing anything that could push your company forward.  The effort will likely present some, if not all of the following:

• New training required for new technology
• Changes to internal operations
• Different repair processes
• Large monetary investments
• Updating existing merchants’ equipment
• Deploying new equipment
• Inventory adjustments
• Bugs in new technology
• Merchant training and communication

Depending on the specific technology, as well as the individual business, the challenges that present themselves will vary.  The people working in a company may not even realize how difficult something as simple as packaging a new device can really be, thus a brand new challenge is presented.  However, by preparing well in advance and enlisting the help of a trusted outside solutions provider, companies can greatly reduce the stress that lies in obtaining and making use of new technology.

What measures should be taken?

First and foremost, your company should have a plan.  The plan has to include not only how you will obtain the new technology, but also how you will distribute it, how you will repair it if necessary, and how it fits into your business overall.  With a good plan in place for managing your new technology, you have to decide what the best way is to execute. Chances are, with any new endeavors or challenges, there will come a time when your business can really benefit from help from other professionals in the industry.

While being familiar with your new technology is important, the people inside your organization don’t necessarily need to be experts.  There are businesses, like CDE, that specialize in lifecycle management of point of sale equipment.  By outsourcing parts or all of your business’ operations to a solution provider, you take a great deal of pressure off of your internal teams and allow them to focus on other important activities.  With a partner like CDE, that is prepared to handle every aspect of your equipment needs, you have the opportunity to rid yourself of a lot of trouble.  If you currently have parts of your process spread out among a number of solutions providers, consider moving everything to just one company that is prepared to handle all of your needs and truly customize services to help your organization succeed.

As most great businesses understand, it’s never a good idea to run away from the evolution of technology.  As the complexities and challenges involved with processing electronic payments change with technology, so must the ways of the businesses that provide and engage with it.  It’s important for companies to understand that this does not mean the people in their own organization must become experts in this technology, only that they have to find the best partners and ideal processes to manage it. With a great partner that genuinely cares for your needs and the needs of your merchants, you have an even better opportunity to roll out new technology without all of the worry.