By Jeremy Nicholds, CEO of Judopay
The United Kingdom is slowly emerging from lockdown to a rapidly transforming new normal. Across the nation, many businesses are resuming with operations and trading where possible, following the reopening of the hospitality sector on 4th July. However, the way the sector now operates is very different to what we were used to seeing prior to COVID-19.
THE IMPORTANCE OF PAYMENTS IN REOPEN- ING HOSPITALITY
Not only does reopening hospitality help make everyday life more enjoyable for everyone but it helps a large portion of the public get back to work. However, the safety of staff and customers is paramount and should be a core component of recovery plans as businesses get back on their feet.
With that said, payments are playing a vital role in this and we are see- ing payments technology being implemented in new and unique ways to make the hospitality sector as safe as possible. One such technology is app-based commerce, which allows businesses to interact with cus- tomers in ways that minimise physical human contact.We have already seen a huge uptake in this technology, as we increasingly adapt to this new normal.
APPCOMMERCE AS THE WAY FORWARD
Throughout the pandemic, contactless card payments have been emphasised as a useful form of payment for reducing human interaction and contact points from which the virus can be spread – such as PIN pads. Earlier in lockdown, the contactless payment spending limit was increased from £30 to £45 in the UK to reduce the amount of cash being passed around the population.
The UK government is also now encouraging the use of contactless payments in the hospitality sector for the same reasons. However, there is a big part of the solution that the government may have overlooked that can help hospitality businesses meet these guidelines with even greater ease – app-based commerce.
THE BENEFITS OF APPS
Apps provide a whole host of benefits and are the perfect tool for not only minimising contact, but also ensuring customers are contactable at a later date, if needs be.While contactless payments eliminate the need for customers to pay using cash, or touch PIN pads, apps can minimise human interaction at the point of sale whilst still providing businesses with ways to engage the customer.This is because they enable cus- tomers to order ahead or at the table, meaning they do not need to leave their seats at all or interact with staff face-to-face. In fact, we recently spoke with members of the public to find out what they thought about using order & pay apps.
When it comes to ensuring that customers are contactable, apps and e-wallets have a real advantage over traditional card-based transactions and anonymous cash payments.With the right permissions, they allow companies to store data about who has attended an establishment at a given time, enabling them to know whether a customer was present while a person known to be carrying the virus was in the vicinity.
OPERATING IN A NEW NORMAL
With hospitality reopening up and down the country, we’re seeing app-based transactions really skyrocketing. It’s promising that there are increasingly more businesses and consumers expressing an interest in this type of payment method.TheYoung’s pub KFC and Caffè Nero app are leading examples of how to put apps to work for your business.
For more information, please visit: https://www.judopay.com/solutions/mobile-payments
