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Merchants accepting or that are considering accepting contactless and mobile payments can determine the impact doing so might have on their businesses by using tools the Smart Card Alliance Contactless and Mobile Payments Council introduced today. The Princeton Junction, N.J.-based organization is offering merchants a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet to help calculate return on investment for accepting contactless payment and an online forum where they can discuss issues pertaining to contactless payment. "Often we hear merchants don't see a business case for accepting contactless," Randy Vanderhoof, alliance executive director, tells CardLine. "We came up with this tool that allows merchants to plug in their own data and see the impact of contactless on their business." The spreadsheet asks merchants to enter such information as revenue, payment-transaction information, transaction speed, expected changes in transaction volume, speed after contactless payments are accepted and costs of accepting contactless, according to a statement. The tool then calculates a return on investment based on increased revenue, savings from fewer charge-backs, reduced cash handling and improved operational efficiency. Vanderhoof says the online forum goes hand-in-hand with the return on investment tool. "It gives merchants a chance to ask questions and others to discuss what their experiences have been with contactless," he says.
