Merchant

COVID-19 has been a major accelerator in the shift to digital for most of us; how we take classes, do our jobs, connect with friends, and definitely how we shop, says PPRO's James Booth.

A spike in demand has led to a bigger emphasis on innovative solutions for the digital payments market.

A spike in demand has led to a bigger emphasis on innovative solutions for the digital payments market.

It's not enough to just get rid of cash or go contactless. There's an entire experience to consider, says Tappit's Jason Thomas.

Big firms need nimble operators to create streamlined processes that match shifting customer behaviors, says DealRockit's David Carmell

When looking back at the pandemic, customers will only remember which companies went above and beyond for them, says Adobe's Mark Masterson.

To truly bridge the gap for moving small-dollar transactions to mobile and contactless, vast areas of the retail industry will need to adapt to accept cashless transactions.

The Biblical narrative of the Tower of Babel was meant to explain why people throughout the world speak different languages, but in the modern-day payments version it apparently applies to the complex and problem-ridden transaction chargeback process.

The coronavirus has spawned a fear over handling cash, creating a problem for the common practice at restaurants of using a card to pay while leaving cash for the tip. Given the challenges and restrictions tied to reopening, it's a conundrum eateries can ill afford.

The murder of George Floyd shocked the national psyche to its core, spotlighting the persistent, systemic racism that exists in many American institutions, which continues to disenfranchise those who live within the Black community.

As the coronavirus pandemic took hold in March and the U.K. went into lockdown, many of the country’s e-commerce businesses suddenly found themselves facing a nigh unprecedented level of demand.

Splitit has boosted its merchant access in the crowded install payment market through a series of deals with large payment companies, the latest being a five-year agreement with Mastercard.

E-commerce sales boomed during the height of the coronavirus when consumers were stuck at home, and merchants had no choice but to accommodate the surge. But some retail industry observers are concerned about potential long-term costs from the pandemic.

Traditional U.K. businesses found innovative ways to serve their customers under coronavirus restrictions. Iconic London black taxi cabs, independent local community pharmacies, old-fashioned pubs, and QSRs have turned to in-app mobile payments to enable their businesses to carry on.

Even though some organizations are now saying they don’t believe cash is a major culprit behind the spread of COVID-19, those taking extra precautions can rest assured they can continue to use contactless payments, while benefiting from the added fraud protection it presents, says FICO's TJ Horan.

Nobody knows what the next six to 12 months are going to look like. That means AP needs to focus on conserving cash while keeping operations moving, says Nvoicepay's Josh Cyphers and Derek Halpern.

Even in the face of a threat as substantial as coronavirus, cash is not apt to ever fully go away.

Electronic payments are spiking during the coronavirus, but access to different automated versions is needed, says Qualpay's Penny Townsend.

Manual work is time-intensive and resource-draining, especially when it involves high volumes of data across disparate systems. When it comes to payments, this can get really complicated with all the moving pieces, says Global Payments Integrated's Ashley Jones.

Meeting customers where and how they want to pay is critical for completing transactions, and while retailers want to offer as healthy and safe of a solution as possible, but that can be expensive and complex, says Merchant Advisory Group's John Drechny.