Consumer adoption of contactless payments via cards, wearables, and mobile wallets, has been increasing at a consistent pace. Not huge leaps forward, but consistent growth. Solutions like those for the London Underground has helped propelled consumer usage. Still, certain regions of the world are trailing in the adoption of contactless. Will the novel coronavirus serve as another step change to drive contactless payment transactions to greater growth?
The impact of the virus on our health and the economy changes daily, but the frenzy surrounding the possible effect on us individually has had an immediate, significant, and perhaps long-term impact on social behavior. In our own industry, the handling of cash, passing credit cards between consumer and merchant, and keying in PIN codes by hand are all susceptible to passing viruses across the population. In fact, the World Health Organization (WHO) has suggested switching to contactless as just one more safety measure to protect yourself from the coronavirus (The Telegraph, March 3, 2020).
In response to the current events, UK Finance has raised the contactless card daily limit from 30 to 45 pounds. Meanwhile, small businesses who previously eschewed online sales are being forced to move product sales online or shutter their doors, facilitating an immediate need for better digital payment solutions.
Is this uncertain time also a silver lining moment for the growth of contactless payments? If so, are you prepared for the expansion? How will you keep up with competitors who offer strong solutions today? Can you move quickly to meet the needs of customers with minimal downtime? We would love to hear your thoughts on this subject.
