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Why Credit Card Transactions Matter More at a Time Like This

Hernaldo Turrillo — Wed, 29 Apr 2020 12:25:25 +0000

Why Credit Card Transactions Matter More at a Time Like This

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the entire world is practicing better hygiene like washing hands and disinfecting various surfaces to stay safe from the mighty virus. During this global crisis, it is essential to understand how you pay at stores and restaurants serving takeout. Using credit cards is a better way to make payments without spreading the germs than cash payments. Plus, it is much easier to sanitize a credit card than to sanitize cash.

Credit Card Convenience

Paying through a credit card is always convenient both for restaurant owners and their customers. It is fast, easy, and customers don’t need to carry exact change. Most credit cards are linked to customer loyalty programs offered by the restaurants so that frequent visitors can benefit from these offers. For restaurant owners, it is convenient too because they don’t need to reconcile point of sale receipts with the cash received at the end of a long and tiring day. Eliminating cash transactions means there is less chance of miscalculation at the end of the night. Also, with no bills lying around your cash counter, you minimize the risk of theft.

Processing Credit Card Payments

If you’re wondering how to make credit card use secure and efficient, the answer lies in adopting a point of sale (POS) system that allows credit card processing. POS software is an application that retailers use to make sales. It can be a cash register, a computer, or any handheld device like a tablet where the product details are entered to make a financial transaction. POS software goes the extra mile by communicating with the back of the house to keep a check on the inventory available, thus keeping everything in balance. From expensive POS solutions to cloud-based POS systems that allow credit card processing, each business has its preference when it comes to choosing POS software.

What Features to Look For

As a restaurant owner, your primary focus is to offer excellent food and an unforgettable customer experience. If you’re using an old legacy system or an old POS system that is prone to shutting down, you might be putting your business at risk. The only way out is to upgrade your POS system to modern cloud-based POS software. With so many POS systems available for the restaurant business, how do you determine which is the best one for your business? Below are a few pointers to help you make an informed decision.

A Real-time, Cloud-based Transaction Portal

Your customers do not like to wait for food or payment. For a restaurant business, speed is a must. If you want to win the hearts of your customers, then you need to offer impeccable customer service. That’s why you need to find a POS system that provides a real-time, cloud-based transaction portal. Being cloud-based, you can use it offline too.

Fraud Detection and Security Monitoring

When installing a POS system, you need to ensure it has the capability of fraud detection and security monitoring. Your customers share critical information while making a payment, and you need to ensure there is no security threat to it. Opt for a POS system that has annual PCI compliance, has security experts for fraud detection and security monitoring, and encourages best practices for data security. A great add-on is a feature that places holds on employees if internal theft is detected. For example, an efficient POS system should be able to put a hold on an employee offering a special discount to a friend. While you know your staff are trustworthy, there is no harm in having a secured and robust system in place to prevent your business from the risk of potential theft.

Fast EMV Processing

EMV payment, more commonly known as chip payment, has become the standard for credit card payments. If you don’t comply with EMV requirements, you can face a chargeback fine for swiping a chipped card. To avoid this, choose an EMV compliant POS system so that you don’t need to deal with every single chargeback. Plus, since EMV cards are more secure than the traditional cards, customers prefer using EMV cards. Hence, your POS system should be capable of fast EMV processing.

Accepts Multiple Payment Methods

An efficient POS system should be able to accept multiple payment methods like Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, PayPal, etc. with near-field communication.

Looking Forward

It’s no secret that cash payments have become increasingly unpopular. Especially now, when sanitation is on everyone’s mind, it’s best to encourage your customers to use credit cards. To support these efforts, upgrade or implement POS software that makes credit card usage faster and more convenient.

Guest Post

Hernaldo Turrillo

Hernaldo Turrillo is a writer and author specialised in innovation, AI, DLT, SMEs, trading, investing and new trends in technology and business. He has been working for ztudium group since 2017. He is the editor of openbusinesscouncil.org, tradersdna.com, hedgethink.com, and writes regularly for intelligenthq.com, socialmediacouncil.eu. Hernaldo was born in Spain and finally settled in London, United Kingdom, after a few years of personal growth. Hernaldo finished his Journalism bachelor degree in the University of Seville, Spain, and began working as reporter in the newspaper, Europa Sur, writing about Politics and Society. He also worked as community manager and marketing advisor in Los Barrios, Spain. Innovation, technology, politics and economy are his main interests, with special focus on new trends and ethical projects. He enjoys finding himself getting lost in words, explaining what he understands from the world and helping others. Besides a journalist, he is also a thinker and proactive in digital transformation strategies. Knowledge and ideas have no limits.

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Most Desirable Technologies When Eating Out

Hernaldo Turrillo — Thu, 08 Aug 2019 12:46:38 +0000

Most Desirable Technologies When Eating Out

71% of Brits wish to order food at their table – this is the most desirable restaurant technology.
New restaurant features attract more custom, as 61% claim they would be more compelled to visit.
Over half (57%) believe new tech is an effective way to tempt customers.
Almost three quarters (71%) expect restaurants to be utilising new technologies.

We’re all partial to exciting new technologies. Whether it’s the newest mobile phone or smart speaker, we all yearn to get our hands on it.

Technology encompasses us, but not only in the obvious way of personal gadgets. We can often overlook how it enriches many aspects of our lives. In particular, when we go out to eat.

To rejig our memories, OnBuy.com surveyed 1,562 Brits on their attitudes towards restaurant technologies. Here’s what they thought.

Future desirable tech. Source: Onebuy

It’s no surprise that self-order kiosks are the most familiar tech to Brits at 82% – most McDonalds and service stations now feature these. This is followed by:

Ordering food via a mobile app (75%)
At-table food ordering (68%)
Digital-electronic bill payments (39%)
Immersive dining experiences (33%). These can incorporate, but not limited to, the following: digitally enhanced walls and decoration, immersive and surround-sound music, digitally enhanced dining tables.

A clear priority emerges with the type of tech we want to see. British people desire the ease of everything in one place – hence the most desirable tech is at-table food ordering (71%), followed by at-table food tracking (64%) and interactive menu experiences (62%). This last one is specially interesting, as it can involve AR assisted menus that create pop-up menu items, displaying a projection mapping of ingredients within the dish, the cooking method and journey of the dish, nutritional information and allergens, and more.

Closely following are:

Micro call buttons (59%)
Immersive dining (57%)
Wait list management software (51%), a type of computer software that enhances and fine-tunes a problem of busy restaurants – that is, a waiting list. Software could create any of the following: pre-orders for food and drinks to be ready on sit-down, text alerts for when a table is ready, a virtual waiting list, and more.
Electronic bill payments (47%)

On the other side of the spectrum, the least favoured restaurant technologies are: at-table digital feedback services (33%), built-in games while you wait (29%), and facial/fingerprint recognition payments (10%).

How likely are you to eat at a restaurant featuring innovative technologies? Source. Onebuy

A resounding number of respondents expect restauranteurs to implement new technologies – 71% expect it, 27% don’t, and 2% don’t mind.

Not only this, but new tech will evidently attract more custom. 61% of Brits are more intrigued by a restaurant utilising innovative tech. This is compared to 27% who aren’t, and 12% who say they’re not sure.

Overall, Brits are in favour of new restaurant tech. 57% believe tech will successfully entice customers into visiting. 17% don’t, while 26% are sceptical, explaining it depends on the tech.

Finally, when asked how likely they are to eat at a restaurant featuring these technologies, most believe they will. 33% answered very likely, followed by likely (20%), somewhat likely (13%), neither likely nor unlikely (16%), somewhat unlikely (5%), unlikely (9%) and very unlikely (4%).

Hernaldo Turrillo

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Credit Score: Soft Vs Hard Searches Explained

Hernaldo Turrillo — Wed, 29 May 2019 10:57:10 +0000

Credit Score: Soft Vs Hard Searches Explained

It is the time of year when individuals may be looking to apply for extra credit to pay for things like some home improvements or paying for a summer holiday. Consumers need to know about how credit searches work and the potential impact of ‘hard searches’ on their credit report and score. Here are a quick explanation and some tips.

“Before starting any application, consumers must be aware that there are two forms of search, soft and hard and it’s important for consumers to understand the difference between the two and when each of them applies,” recently warned Equifax in a press release, the credit information provider.

A soft credit search usually appears on an individual’s credit report when they have requested a quotation from a lender; so they have been trying to find out what credit and at what rate might be available to them before making a full application. Typically this will happen when they perform a search on a comparison website for a better deal on mortgages, credit card offers, etc. Crucially, soft searches are not visible to all companies looking at an individual’s credit file – they can only be seen by the applicant themselves and the company that conducted the initial search. And the number of soft searches doesn’t have any impact on an individual’s credit score. You can get a free soft credit check with ClearScore

Hard credit searches, however, are visible to other companies looking at an individual’s credit report

Hard credit searches, however, are visible to other companies looking at an individual’s credit report. These are appear on an individual’s credit report when a formal application for credit has been made. Too many hard credit searches in a short space of time could affect an individual’s credit score, potentially having an impact on their ability to access new credit. Utility providers and mobile phone providers may also conduct hard searches when setting up new accounts, because they are also extending a form of credit to the individual.

“Consumers are used to shopping around and that’s no different, when it comes to credit deals,” explains Lisa Hardstaff, credit information expert at Equifax. “However every time you apply for credit, such as a loan or credit card, it leaves a trace that other lenders can see on that person’s credit report. Applying for several different credit cards in a short space of time might make lenders suspect fraud or that someone is applying for credit they can’t afford.

“Consumers who are just window shopping need to make sure lenders conduct ‘soft searches’ to protect their creditworthiness once they do apply for credit. Shopping around for credit shouldn’t impact a person’s credit score unless they actually make a formal application, which is why consumers need to understand how soft and hard credit searches work. A good way to ensure you protect your credit score when searching for credit is to ask the lender for a quotation first so that you can see the deal they would offer before going ahead and making a formal application.”

Hernaldo Turrillo

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Revealed: The Most Profitable Area Of Tech According To Consumers

Hernaldo Turrillo — Wed, 08 May 2019 11:21:04 +0000

Revealed: The Most Profitable Area Of Tech According To Consumers

48% of consumers believe home tech products will be the most profitable to sell in years to come.
57% of these consumers believe they could make between 51 and 75% profit at resale.
Almost 3/4 (74%) are swayed by potential profits – they will change their buying habits to acquire more profit, regardless of the product or how much they may have to fork out.

The technology buying-and-selling sector can yield impressive profits. Gaming and recreational tech have led for many years, with the likes of retro consoles and Polaroids dominating the cashback limelight.

But with the increase in smart home technology, perhaps collectors’ interest could shift towards a new area of investment?

Online marketplace OnBuy conducted a survey to discover which area of tech 1,784 consumers thought would become the most profitable if they were to resell in the future. Not only that, but how much profit they anticipate to benefit from.

What are the results?

Of the four sectors considered in this survey, 48% (856) believe home technologies will increase the most in value in the future. That is, home tech products such Amazon’s Alexa, Google Home, Smart thermostats etc. will be the most profitable when trying to resell.

In second place is personal tech (Fitbits, smart watches and smartphones for example), with 29% (518) predicting this area will hold many of the most profitable products.

Gaming tech such as VR/AR, portable consoles and wireless headphones takes third place, with 13% (232) of consumers believing they’ll be able to resell for the most profit.

And finally, in fourth place, the tech area consumers anticipate growing in value the least over time is recreational tech such as drones, instant cameras and more – only 10% chose this.

The tech consumers believe will be the most profitable. Source: OnBuy

SURVEY RESULTS:

Products from which of the following tech areas do you think will increase the most in value in the future?

Gaming tech: 232 (13%)
Home tech: 856 (48%)
Personal tech: 518 (29%)
Recreational tech: 178 (10%)

Thinking about the tech area you chose to be the most profitable, how much profit do you think you could achieve when reselling?

0-25%: 143 (8%)
26-50%: 357 (20%)
51-75%: 1,017 (57%)
76%<: 268 (15%)

Would you change what/how you buy if it meant a higher profit on resale?

Yes: 1,320 (74%)
No: 303 (17%)
Depends on the product/how much I would have to spend initially: 161 (9%)

How much profit do consumers think they could make?

Following consumers’ choice of tech with the highest potential profit, respondents were asked to predict how much profit they thought they could attain.

The percentage profit that most consumers think they can reach is an optimistic 51-75% – 57% (1,017) of respondents chose this.

The next most popular answer was 26-50% profit (20% – 357 chose this), followed by 76%< with 15% (268) of respondents opting for this amount.

Finally, the profit margin the least number of people thought they could achieve was 0-25% – 8% of respondents, that’s 143 people, chose this option.

Does this affect consumer buying habits?

OnBuy also wanted to discover whether the possibility of profit navigates people’s buying decisions. The respondents were next asked “Would you change what/how you buy if it meant a higher profit on resale?”

And as expected, 74% (1,320) chose ‘yes’. 17% (303) chose ‘no’, and 9% (161) of the respondents said it depended on what the product was/how much they may have to spend initially.

OnBuy’s managing director Cas Paton said: “As technology and its demands are continuously developing, it makes predicting future trends difficult. This is why OnBuy believes in the importance of the consumer’s opinion – as the targets for businesses, they will tailor their products around them. This survey is particularly interesting in regard to this. Will we see brands change based on these alternative consumer thoughts? Or will they stick to what they think they know?”

Hernaldo Turrillo

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Top 30 SiTo Know If You Are Financially Successful

Hernaldo Turrillo — Thu, 17 Jan 2019 14:30:25 +0000

Top 30 Signs To Know If You Are Financially Successful

Researchers who polled 2,000 adults have revealed the top 30 signs you are in a good place financially, including having £500 worth of disposable income to spend every single month. These have found that having savings, being debt-free – and going on two holidays a year means you’re ‘comfortable’, according to the study.

But not all inclusions on the list are material – as some adults think being comfortable with money simply means having the ability to make wise decisions when it comes to spending. Others think it is having a good knowledge of financial services on the market, such as pensions, ISA’s and investments.

However, the study revealed less than half of those polled would say they are financially comfortable – and of these, 56 per cent are over the age of 55. Kris Brewster, head of products for Skipton Building Society which commissioned the research, said: “It is easy to think that being in a good place with money means having a lot, but actually it is more about making sensible decisions when it comes to spending and saving.

“Doing your homework about the market, understanding what is happening to money when it is invested, and shopping around for good opportunities are all important regardless of the quantity of money you have,” she continues, as in particular, deciding where to keep your money can be one of the most important decisions you’ll make, because when your money is in a good place, so are you.

Some adults think being comfortable with money simply means having the ability to make wise decisions when it comes to spending

Other signs of being financially comfortable include getting through the average month without having to dip into savings, and not having to countdown the days until payday. Having a good credit score, knowing how to budget and owning more than one property also feature in the top 30.

Those who are able to buy what they want without worrying, eat out without it having to be a special occasion and buy all the ‘leading brands’ are also considered to be in a fortunate position with their finances. Of those who are lucky enough to be happy with the state of their finances, more than half feel relaxed, and one quarter say a weight has been lifted from their shoulders.

It also emerged seven in 10 adults believe they are sensible with money, with the average respondent having around £228 of disposable income to spend a month, and £146 to put into savings.

Just over half of respondents even reckon they could cope with an unexpected bill, while a further 35 per cent think they have a relatively good knowledge of the financial market and the services currently on offer. But 37 per cent can’t see a light at the end of the tunnel, and worry they’ll never be in a good place with their money – while four in 10 just don’t know what the future holds. And almost half of those polled via OnePoll admit they’ve been with the same building society or bank for years because they don’t like change.

In this respect, Kris Brewster added: “It’s great to see from our research that the number one sign you’re in a good place financially is to have savings – it isn’t about people believing they need to be able to buy the latest designer goods or own the biggest home to feel in a good place with their finances.”

Savings do help people to feel more financially secure, as it provides them with a safety net in the case of emergencies. Savings are a necessity not a luxury.

“It’s important when looking at managing your personal finances that saving is high on the priority list, regardless of the amount you can put away each month,” she mentioned.

“We all want to feel like we’re in a good place with our finances,” the expert concluded. If you want to know more about your financial status, the study also comes along with a quiz to find it out.

Savings do help people to feel more financially secure, as it provides them with a safety net in the case of emergencies. Savings are a necessity not a luxury

Top 30 signs you’re in a ‘good place financially’

You have savings
You don’t any have debt
You don’t have to count the days until your next payday
Getting through a month without having to dip into savings
Your mortgage is paid off
Having a ‘rainy day’ fund
You can buy what you want without worrying
Being able to afford house maintenance if it’s needed e.g. fix the shower ASAP if it breaks
Having more than £500 disposable income a month
Being able to treat yourself every now and then
Knowing how to budget each month
You have a good credit score
Being able to eat out if you feel like it without it having to be a special occasion
You make sensible spending choices
You go on more than one holiday a year
You’re confident about your future
Being able to go on a last minute holiday without feeling guilty
You have the ability to make wise decisions about money and spending
Owning more than one property
You make good financial decisions without needing advice
You don’t argue over money with loved ones
Not having to look at the price of clothes when shopping
Having multiple investments
You have good knowledge about financial services on the market
You don’t bet or rely on successful bets for income
You’re generous when it comes to lending money to friends or family and giving to charity
You pay for everyone else’s meal when out – ‘putting it on your card’ instead of splitting it
You are well-read when it comes to where to put your money
You buy from the leading brands (e.g. clothes, food)
People ask your opinion about finances – as you are good with advice

Hernaldo Turrillo

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