The Covid-19 outbreak at the end of 2019 affected many systems, including the cash market. As the virus spread through proximity, cash transactions were reduced significantly. At this stage, people realized the relevancy of contactless payment methods more than ever. Now that the entire economy has adopted the contactless mode of doing business, its benefits are becoming more visible with time. Adjustment as a whole wouldn’t have been possible with the absence of online payment platforms.

Benefits of Contactless Payments

Social Distancing

‘Social Distancing’ is a term that got instant popularity as COVID-19 kept spreading to newer places in late 2019 and early 2020. It was one of the significant ways to contain the spread of the virus. The problem, however, was how challenging it was for most payment methods to follow social distancing. This is where contactless payments gained popularity and supported small businesses. 

With contactless payments, even brick-and-mortar merchants can do business without accepting cash. Instead, they can sign up for a payment links service and share the link immediately with the customer after purchase. A QR code can be set for customers to scan and pay and accept card payments remotely. As a result, merchants can avoid making physical contact with the customer’s card or cash in hand. 

Improved Security

Contactless payment is more secure. The necessary details for transactions can be entered into the payment gateway, a technology that has already proved to be one of the most secure online payment systems. With the latest security standards backing the gateways, customer details remain safe within the online space. 

In India payment gateway services, like Zaakpay, that consider security in the highest of regards invest in internationally accredited security regulations and technologies such as PCI DSS, SSL encryption, tokenization, two-factor authentication and other forms of security verifications. With such levels of security, merchants can accept contactless payments without worrying about their customers’ safety and business. Moreover, more security equates to lower chances of data breach or theft, enabling more trust from the customers towards the gateway.

Improved Operational Efficiency

Contactless payment systems can streamline the operational processes of the business to improve its efficiency. For example, Zaakpay, a leading payment gateway service provider, helps merchants with a data-rich dashboard that acts as a database of all online payment transactions. Merchants can directly download the data and use it to increase the efficiency of business processes, accounting, and inventory management.

Processing payments takes place faster through contactless transactions, thereby saving the business a lot of precious time. Cash flow is greatly improved with contactless payments using UPI or cards compared to physical modes of payments like cheques or direct cash. In either case, the merchant has to visit the bank. Cheque clearance takes another couple of days, at the least. The money from pay-on-delivery takes nearly a week to reach the merchant. In comparison to these, contactless payments deposit the funds almost instantaneously, helping speed up the merchant’s payment process.

Improved Customer Satisfaction

Customer satisfaction is essential for the growth of any business. While this satisfaction depends on the product or service being offered, several other factors contribute equally, such as the overall purchase experience and ease of operation. This is one of the reasons why digital payment systems got so much popular in the first place. They make the whole payment processing more accessible, improving customer satisfaction and benefitting the merchant with more sales and customer retention. In addition, one must remember that the more manageable the payment platform is, the more the customers would consider purchasing from that business.

The multiple options available for online payments, like credit and debit cards, mobile wallets, UPI, etc., help further ease the payment process to the customers. Moreover, they may get different offers as an incentive to carry out the payment through these options. Offers include cashback, vouchers or discounts on subscription packages of various entertainment platforms. Such offerings attract customers, increasing the organic traffic for the business.

Bigger Customer Out-reach

In India payment gateway sites have enabled many local businesses to operate beyond their geographical locations. This has helped small companies give that necessary push, as now they can sell their products or services to customers in spread-out places. As a result, besides increased revenues, they are getting an opportunity to grow their business faster than before. On the other hand, customers also get to shop from different places online. So it’s a win-win situation for both the consumers and the sellers alike.

Conclusion

Technological revolutions have given the necessary boom to the businesses operating today. A few years back, contactless payment was something that only a handful of people knew. But now, almost every other individual opt for cashless transactions. That being said, it is equally essential for merchants to set up a contactless payment system for their business, no matter the organization’s size. In India payment gateway service offered by Zaakpay is one-of-its-kind at an affordable price point. Supporting more than 100 contactless payment options through its gateway and link services, it serves as an ideal choice for all business owners looking for a reliable gateway option worldwide.