Our financial year runs from November through to October, which means that we're already setting our sights on what 2023 will bring for our business and for yours. As Head of Product, Verifone APAC it's my job to understand the payment challenges businesses are facing and bring new solutions to market to solve those challenges. Read on to learn more about our product roadmap and the strategy behind it, and get a preview of the new payment tech we're bringing to Kiwi businesses.
Our roadmap is informed by both your expectations of our payment services and the expectations your customers have of you. Businesses want simple, affordable, no-hassle payment services. Supply chain and staffing issues mean businesses need access to data to inform decisions around inventory and rostering. Meanwhile, the rapid response to the COVID pandemic globally has changed consumer shopping habits and expectations. eCommerce spend was already trending up year over year, but from 2020 we saw a massive boom in online spending. Self-service and contactless interactions have become a normal part of the business as usual offering. Consumers expect a personalised, bespoke, yet consistent experience whether they're browsing your offerings in-person or checking out your merchandise on your Instagram feed.
Omnichannel solutions
In the past, Verifone was solely a manufacturer of EFTPOS machines. Our devices are the highest quality on the market and we lead the industry in payment innovation and solution development. But as we emerge from the pandemic, it's not enough to solely accept cash and EFTPOS.
According to a Shopify whitepaper, consumers today are looking for:
- Merchants to sell where (and how) they prefer i.e. online, in-store etc
- A consistent shopping experience no matter how they are buying
- 58% of consumers have used a BOPIS (buy online, pick up in store) service in the last 12 months and 67% of consumers have advised that they are inclined to add extra basket items when using a BOPIS service.
- 54% of consumers say they’re likely to look at a product online and buy in store
- 53% are likely to look at a product in-store and buy online
However, to accept payment elsewhere businesses often need multiple different providers. This can be expensive, hard to manage and ultimately result in a disjointed customer experience. Reconciliation becomes increasingly challenging with multiple payment providers too, 47% of retailers report operational challenges in reconciling online and offline operations/data.
The solution? Omnichannel payments. Technology that allows you to integrate all of your payment channels into a single platform from a single provider. Now you can accept payment in-store on your Verifone payment device, online on your website or app, via a payment link sent via text message, email or over chat, or on a virtual terminal. Process your payments seamlessly on the Verifone payment network and then view and manage all your payment data in one place on the Verifone Merchant Portal.
Don't have a website? No problem! Build your own quickly with our partner Storbie's DIY website building tool which comes pre-integrated with our online payment gateway.
The best part? This technology is affordable for all businesses big and small and you don't need a team of developers to set up the Verifone Merchant Portal and plug in all your payment facilities. Whether you have one store or 500 you can offer your customers a slick payment experience that rivals the biggest global players in retail.
The Verifone Merchant Portal and Verifone online payments are available now. If you would like to talk to someone about setting these up for your business you can call our team on 0800 338 767 (option 4).
Kiosks and unattended payments
The pandemic has changed consumer perceptions and expectations around contactless payment options. A broader range of industries are now looking to offer the convenience of self-service options to their customers. To meet this demand, Verifone is bringing new unattended devices and complete kiosk solutions to New Zealand, all designed to create secure, fast, reliable, and interactive self-service experiences. Businesses will be able to offer convenient checkout options to keep up with spikes in foot traffic including complete self-service kiosks and 'drive-through' or 'endless aisle' experiences. Self-ordering in hospitality environments gives customers more control over their food selection, improving order accuracy and service speed. Retailers big and small can offer a greater level of order customisation and create additional revenue while saving on staff costs. Look out for more information about kiosk and unattended solutions later in 2023.
Data insights
Whether you have one store or 500, knowing what stock is selling and what product lines aren't pulling their weight, which days are busiest so you can roster on more staff and understanding customer churn are critical to growing your business. For this, you need reliable, cohesive and comprehensive data. A key focus for Verifone and Eftpos New Zealand is delivering new payment data analysis and forecasting tools to help you tap into your payment data and uncover critical insights to drive better business decision-making. Keep an eye out for more updates on data insights from Eftpos NZ.
Android EFTPOS
We launched our first Android EFTPOS device in 2020 delivering a device packed with potential and ready to go with all of the payment essentials you expect from a portable EFTPOS device. We continue to develop and launch new features and enhancements to our growing Android fleet. Thousands of Kiwi businesses are already using these devices and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. In our next software release you can expect to see multi-merchant launched on Android EFTPOS, as well as compatibility with Alipay & WeChat Pay, and Centrapay. A recent development is the launch of the Salespoint Point of Sale app on Android which enables you to turn the device into an all-in-one POS and payment device. Over the coming year, look out for new Android terminals designed specifically for Point of Sale integrated solutions and new developments in the app space.
Ngā mihi,
Ben Hughes
Head of Product, APAC
Verifone
The development, release and timing of any products, features or functionality remain at the sole discretion of Eftpos New Zealand and are subject to change.
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