As a business owner, you must provide yourself with as many opportunities as possible for your business to succeed — and an up-to-date retail payment solution that benefits both the merchant and the customer should be high on your list of priorities.
Choosing the right retail payment system can make a big difference in how customers interact with you, with nearly 50% of customers saying they would abandon a purchase if they could not use their preferred method of payment.
In today’s saturated market, it can be difficult to choose the most appropriate retail payment system to suit both your needs and those of your clientele. However, with a robust and convenient cloud-based payment solution and a range of additional features to help your business grow, eCloud4 is quickly revolutionizing the mobile payment system.
But don’t take our word for it! Let’s take a look at the hottest new retail payment systems transforming shopping experiences in 2023.
What Is a Retail Payment System?
The retail payment system facilitates the transfer of funds from consumers to merchants in exchange for goods and services. Traditionally, cash was the primary payment system, however, while cash is still ubiquitous, the retail payment system is constantly evolving and comprises various retail payment methods such as credit and debit cards and mobile payment systems.
Types of Retail Payment Systems
In today’s market, there are several popular payment methods that serve small and medium businesses and allow customers to make fast and secure payment transactions. The most popular include:
Cash Payments
Cash payments are of course the original retail payment system, and despite the decline in usage, cash payments still provide benefits to businesses. However, in 2022, research showed that cash was used for only 18% of transactions in Canada — not surprising considering the range of alternative and more convenient payment methods available.
Card Payments
Debit and credit cards are another ubiquitous payment system. Debit card payments allow users to charge purchases directly from their bank account. In contrast, credit cards give them a specific limit within which they can make purchases.
Card payments are highly convenient for the customer and benefit the merchant because payments go straight into the business’ bank account. However, card payments — in particular credit cards — carry high fees which can be a deterrent for some merchants.
Mobile Payments
With millions of customers utilizing smartphones to add convenience to their lives, mobile financial transactions are expanding quickly.
A mobile payment system is the transfer of funds, typically to a person or business, in exchange for goods and services, using a mobile device to execute and confirm the transaction. These transactions can be completed remotely, in person, or via contactless payments. Mobile payment systems provide flexibility to both merchants and consumers, while also unifying online and offline operations. The most popular examples of mobile payments include mobile wallets, QR codes, and payment links.
Popular Mobile Retail Payment Systems in Today’s Market
Your mobile retail payment system is an integral part of how much profit your business earns. When the right system is implemented, it enhances the buyers’ shopping experience and keeps customers highly satisfied with your brand experience. Some of the hottest retail payments systems currently available include:
- eCloud4
- PayPal
- Google Pay
- Apple Pay
- Stripe
- Square
What Makes a Good Mobile Retail Payment System?
A mobile retail payment solution is a way for merchants to accept payments from customers in a secure and streamlined way. In order to give customers the best possible shopping experience, merchants should look for a payment solution that is safe, fast, and user-friendly — technology that will enhance the shopping experience for your customers while also benefiting your bottom line. Let’s explore the important factors to consider before choosing a retail payment system for your business:
- Mutually beneficial: It should benefit both the merchant and the customer; both parties should feel incentivized to use the system. This can be done via cash rewards for customers and low processing fees for merchants.
- Secure: It should have strong encryption to protect customer data, secure authentication protocols to prevent fraud, and robust anti-fraud measures to detect and prevent fraudulent transactions.
- Easy to use: It should be easy to use, intuitive, and offer a great customer experience. It should be reliable and have a good customer service team to help quickly resolve any issues.
- Additional services: A modern payment solution should also provide assistance on how to promote your offerings and increase your sales. This often looks like the provision of insightful data and analytics about your target customers or tailored marketing campaigns to expand your business’s reach.
Why Choose eCloud4 as Your Retail Payment System?
- Low fees for merchants: eCloud4 was designed to benefit everyone. While the customer benefits with cash rewards each time they make a purchase, with eCloud4, merchants enjoy lower fees — with only a 2.3% processing fee per transaction.
- Payments are safe and secure: eCloud4 boasts advanced security protocols to ensure each payment is secure. eCloud4 uses a QR code system to ensure optimal security for its users and merchants. QR codes allow people to make payments without the need to share sensitive information such as PINs or account numbers with strange devices. They also solve the problem of public wifi connection breaches which can compromise alternative mobile payment systems.
- Installation is free and easy: eCloud4 can be quickly incorporated into your existing setup so that you can begin accepting payments from day one. Not to mention it’s totally free to install and you do not pay a cent until you make a sale.
- Easy to use and suitable for all: eCloud4 was designed for all, regardless of age, location, or choice of smartphone. The interactive design caters to ease of use for both the merchant and the customer so that both can enjoy seamless transactions and continue to build long-lasting relationships.
- Tailored marketing campaign to enhance business offerings: eCloud4 offers a range of sales, marketing, and business services for free when you become a payment partner. eCloud4 promotes your business with a tailored marketing campaign to expand the scope of visibility, increase your sales, and cultivate lasting relationships with your customers.
- Connect with like-minded customers: The eCloud4 app is equipped with geotargeting capabilities so that customers can find their favorite merchants easily, just by opening the app.
In a world of choices, there is only one true option. Start elevating your customer service experience and increasing sales today with eCloud4 — the revolution is now.
