POS Provisioning: 6 Things Retailers Want
For payment service providers, options for provisioning your merchants have never been better. POS solutions on the market today are overwhelmingly affordable, secure, and user-friendly. But at the same time, the field has become really crowded. With options from legacy manufacturers, tech startups, and everyone in between, it can be hard to determine the right products to offer your merchants.
By provisioning your retailers with targeted POS solutions, you can position them for optimal success in the marketplace, and increase their loyalty to you as a payments partner. Let’s take a moment to look at what retailers value and need.
1. Retailers value ease of use
It’s a touchscreen world. People expect all the devices they interact with to operate as intuitively as their personal smartphones. Retailers are through with monochrome screens, indecipherable buttons and abbreviated menu prompts. At the point of sale, retailers expect to interact with terminals that are fast, intuitive for both customers and merchants, and multi-purpose in their benefit to the business.
Whether your merchants are best suited for an all-in-one tablet solution or a more traditional terminal configuration, keep usability in mind. Look for convenient features like key entry shields, full color touch screens, wireless connectivity, and easy, snap-on peripherals. For high points in usability, you may consider:
- Ingenico’s wide variety of smart terminals
- Verifone’s expansive suite of to-the-minute and legacy devices
- Elo Touch’s 20-million strong touchscreen solutions
- Magtek’s top-notch secure terminals and peripherals
- Castles Technology’s worldwide mPOS portfolio
- Exadigm’s cloud-connected mobile devices
2. Retailers value cloud-based connectivity
From a software perspective, merchants desire minimal hassle. Retailers increasingly desire cloud-based software systems to manage their business and payments needs. This means automatic software updates, data access from anywhere, and best security from hackers. Tablet based POS systems are a great success story, as tablet processing software is cloud-based, taking the burden of software updates and maintenance completely off the retailer’s shoulders.
Some excellent cloud-based and remote connection options include:
3. Retailers value added services
POS systems provide a prime opportunity to incorporate added-value services. Retailers appreciate service providers who offer beneficial business management tools such as reports and analytics, labor and inventory management, and marketing promotions. Of course, it’s also important to remember the crucial priority: ease of implementation. With added value services, PSPs can effectively build loyalty with their retailers, while helping business owners succeed. Several POS solutions are trusted for their business management tools:
4. Retailers value mobility
The growth in mPOS testifies to the importance of offering mobile devices for your retailers. mPOS is expected to grow from 15.6 million installed terminals worldwide in 2016 to 31.4 million in 2020. Useful for many industry categories, mPOS allows retailers to meet customers where they are, enriching the shopping experience and providing upsell opportunities. mPOS is a key element to an omnichannel experience.
When selecting mPOS hardware, it’s important to keep connectivity in mind. Since terminals are typically on the move, reliable connectivity is key. Make sure your mPOS equipment provides a full range of connectivity options to match any retailer setting, such as WiFi, Bluetooth, 3G/4G and USB. Some leaders in mPOS include:
- Ingenico Move series
- Castles Technology MP200
- Pax mobile series
5. Retailers value security
With data breaches in the news every week, retailers are understandably nervous about security. Data breaches are especially devastating to small retailers, not only in lost revenue, but also in damaged reputations, loss of customers and reduced future opportunities.
When selecting POS equipment, make sure your portfolio meets the highest levels of PCI standards. Further, payment service providers may often need to assist smaller merchants in developing best data security practices. Fortunately, PCI has some excellent resources geared toward small businesses that you can brand and use.
While EMV has done wonders to reduce card-present theft, sometimes it’s not possible to avoid a mag stripe purchase. To avoid the risk of open-air transactions, several manufacturers offer encrypted mag stripe transactions. Encrypted mag stripe readers provide a way for merchants to become EMV compliant without the cost of an entire terminal upgrade. Consider these options:
6. Retailers value easy peripherals
Today’s peripherals - printers, cards readers, cash drawers, and more - are much more than a commodity item. Manufacturers have brought smart new peripherals to market, designed for plug and play adaptability. Some innovations in peripherals include:
- Front-facing printers to reduce spills and paper jams: Star POS printers
- Encrypted mag stripe and EMV readers: Magtek Edynamo
- Wireless cash drawers for mPOS settings: APG
- Contactless readers for traditional and unattended retail: ViVOpay
It’s crucial to provision your retailers with the right POS solutions for their business settings. By understanding what your retailers value, payment service providers can make informed choices in determining which POS products to support. By offering the right transaction tools and added value services, you’ll become a valued partner in your retailers’ success.
At CDE Solutions, we guarantee that your merchants have the devices and accessories they need without the hassle of acquiring and storing them on your own.
in Industry News, Equipment, Technology