An enormous shift is taking place in the way we pay, enabled by advances in mobile and connected technologies.
Our smart terminal – Albert – is a driving force at the center of this new payment world.
The Australian home is galloping into the digital age, with connected fridges, lights and multiple devices now common and reshaping the way we live. And outside, the way we interact with businesses on the shop or restaurant floor is shifting dramatically.
Soon the days of carrying a wallet, collecting tickets from a box office, walking to a front counter to pay, may be gone.
Cash is losing dominance as we tap our cards, purchase online and arm ourselves with smartphones and watches that integrate with the smart devices businesses are adopting.
The future is limitless and we don’t yet know what’s possible.
So, what might be around the corner for 2017? Here are some of the big plays we will see next year…
The race to develop an SME ecosystem
There is a strong focus emerging in the tech space and the race is on to see who will be first to develop a dedicated SME ecosystem – one that connects merchants to a broad range of services such as time and bookkeeping, banking services, legal advice, recruitment, sales and marketing. Apple have more recently started focusing on this space with the ambition to launch a dedicated platform for businesses making it the preferred one-stop-shop for all business related needs. We will likely see a proliferation of such ecosystems from various global players who will no doubt look to extend into payment services.
Digital Wallet take up
The Digital wallet is another technology to watch. Although it has been around for some time, we are now seeing its use extend into new areas. For example, mobile applications are now enabling contact less payment whilst seamlessly capturing a customer’s loyalty details and applying discounts dynamically.
This extends the personalization of the payment experience that many businesses have not had the capability to do. It will be exciting to see how this evolves in 2017.
Death of the traditional point of sale
With the emergence of cloud based Point of Sale (POS) solutions and connected devices such as Albert, we are seeing a slow decline in the traditional POS set up.
Cloud based solutions that come at a lower cost and offer more portable solutions by working on traditional tablets and secure devices like Albert are coming to the fore.
The value for merchants is that the cloud based solution allows them to move away from the expensive point of sale solutions which are fixed to a counter top and consume significant physical real estate. Cloud based solutions are also faster to set up as there is no reliance on third party installers.
The way we pay is changing for businesses and the consumer.
In the first half of 2017 alone, we will see the launch of another 13 new apps designed for Albert to enhance experiences for consumers and businesses in loyalty, retail, education, transport, charity, sport and entertainment sectors.
ROLLER proudly partners with Albert to provide seamless payment integration for our customers. Click here to read more about this powerful payment tool.
