Every year, conversations at ETA TRANSACT center on the future of payments, so it is more than likely that Android payments platforms and the significant role they will play in the future will be topics of discussion this year.
Consumer demands and expectations are proving to be a powerful driving force in payments innovation. Today’s omnichannel shoppers expect the same experiences in-store as they have online. Furthermore, e-commerce sites have set the bar high, with a broad range of payment choices and instant access to personalized loyalty rewards and promotions. Retailers are responding to consumer demands by seeking solutions that move beyond traditional payment terminal functionality to provide a platform for real customer engagement.
Android payment platforms allow merchants to reimagine in-store processes to meet customers’ expectations, creating exciting opportunities for retailers and the companies that support them.
Why Android?
Payment platforms based on the Android operating system give developers the freedom to expand functionality at the payment terminal natively and by integrating a variety of segment-specific business applications. Android’s open and developer-friendly nature enables greater payment choice, including alternative payments, such as buy now, pay later (BNPL), peer-to-peer (P2P) payments, and cryptocurrency, as well as EMV chip, contactless, and mobile wallet payments.
An Android platform supporting payment terminals also gives merchants easy access to services, such as fraud prevention, customer engagement solutions, and remote support. With Android, both business-segment-specific and customer-facing features can be simpler to deploy and tailored to each merchant’s operation. Furthermore, Android allows developers to bring solutions to market faster than when working with proprietary payment technology platforms. This flexibility enables solutions providers and acquirers to build stickier relationships with merchants, which will contribute to business growth.
Additionally, Android allows end-user businesses more opportunities to differentiate their brands. For smaller businesses, a payment terminal may be the only computer in the store. Android enables them to leverage it to optimize processes, enhance customer engagement, leverage data insights for smart decision-making, and compete with larger retailers.
With a platform that allows them to add value-added services easily, merchants can engineer checkout experiences to lead their markets in convenience, personalized service, and ease of use. Android also gives merchants the assurance that their solutions are truly future-proof, capable of adapting or expanding as consumer expectations and industry trends evolve.
Android Payments Platform Challenges
Although Android overcomes many hurdles to expanding the functionality – and the value – of the payment terminal, it also creates the challenge of addressing a wide spectrum of possible solutions that can integrate with the platform. Acquirers will have the option to offer any of a range of alternative payment options, loyalty rewards programs, and other applications to merchants and manage and monitor them.
The Android payment platform provider can help simplify that process by vetting solutions, building relationships with developers, and making their apps available via a portal or app store. The provider can also leverage the Android platform to give acquirers control over which solutions they offer, business-segment-specific offerings, and options for customer support directly from the terminal.
Keep the Conversation Going at ETA TRANSACT
This year’s ETA TRANSACT show is the perfect opportunity to explore the evolving payments landscape. TRANSACT’s theme, “the speed of payments,” ideally reflects today’s challenges and opportunities – and brings the industry together to look forward to the exciting things to come.
TRANSACT takes on some of the most pressing topics of the time, from the current appetite for cryptocurrency transactions in-store and the rise of embedded payments to payments security, risk, and compliance. The agenda also includes discussions on the shift toward the platform approach, partnerships, and open collaboration to make new payment capabilities accessible to brick-and-mortar merchants of all sizes. Additionally, members of the Ingenico team are excited to participate in two panels, one focusing on alternative payments in-store and another on career opportunities in payments.
We are also taking advantage of the fact that TRANSACT is scheduled in our backyard this year at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, April 24-26, 2023. Our team will be there in full force in booth #1413.
If you are planning your strategy for how to keep pace with the evolving industry and the rapid “speed of payments,” new partnerships, the shift toward Android payments platforms, and payments innovation, TRANSACT is the perfect opportunity to collect information that will help you determine your next steps.
Looking forward to seeing you there.
