UK retailers need POS terminals for over half of all payments

August 15, 2017

POS terminals across the country are getting something of a workout thanks to the country’s changing relationship with the way payments are processed.

For the first time in history, card purchases in the UK account for more than half of retail sales according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC). Their research also highlights that card usage overall has grown and that debit cards have overtaken cash payments for the first time.

Key to this change has been retailers’ faith in adopting POS terminals that offer shoppers easier ways to pay and handle their money than carrying cash. Debit, credit and charge cards through POS terminals accounted for 10.3 billion retail transactions in 2016; 54% of all retail payments.

Some retailers, though, still feel wary about updating and upgrading their payment systems because of a worry of how much POS terminals cost and other factors.

POS terminals cost less than you think…

Retailers – especially small business owners – also worry about matters such as the amount of disruption installing new systems into their workplace can cause, the amount of commission certain POS terminals charge and more.

The amount of revenue that a modern payment system can provide to commercial enterprises, though, can make matters such as the amount POS terminals charge and other factors negligible as they contribute heavily to the future of your business’s overall growth.

There’s a more real and immediate danger to that growth, too: not adopting POS terminals and paying attention to the way your existing customers are paying for their goods.

The POS terminal market itself is predicted to hit $125 billion by 2024, reflecting the global demand for terminal systems that accept modern, digital payment methods such as contactless solutions and payments made through smartphone apps.

Convenience is now king when it comes to retail, with contactless payments set to save shoppers over a billion pounds in time by 2021, according to research by Barclaycard. They believe that contactless payments will increase by 317% over the next four years, especially with ‘touch and go’ payments becoming mandatory from 1 January 2020.

Go contactless now and reap the rewards

With research also highlighting that six in 10 British residents use contactless payments and 71% saying they use it to pay for goods more frequently than they did a year ago, can you honestly say that your business is ready for the contactless revolution?

Though all signs are pointing to a cashless society in the not-to-distant future, contactless payments are happening right now.

How you accept customer payments cold also directly affect how customers perceive you. Are you still swiping and asking for a signature? People may choose to take their business elsewhere for their convenience if so.

The BRC says that contactless cards and payment systems have “firmly established their place as the dominant payment method in retail”, and are “increasingly displacing cash for lower-value payments”. Retailers who allow these transactions to happen sooner rather than later can reap the rewards of what may be the most important cultural economic shift in decades.

Want to know more about how adopting the right POS terminal can grow your business, improve customer security and improve your reputation? Contact the Fibonatix team to find out more.