Ireland is well on the way to becoming a cashless society with consumers taking to contactless payments in ever greater numbers. According to the latest statistics from Visa, more than three million contactless payment transactions are made every week in Ireland – up from only 75,000 just two years ago. That quite startling rate of growth has seen contactless now account for one in three of all face-to-face Visa payments in this country.
It is little wonder that consumers have embraced contactless payments so warmly. They are quick and convenient, taking 40 per cent less time than a normal card payment and they do away with the hassle of carrying notes and small change for transactions less than €30. The advent of Apple Pay and Android Pay on mobile phones is set to make tap-and-go payments more popular still. We can now pay for our coffee, paper, parking, and shopping with a simple touch of our phone or card – our whole day can be contactless with no need for cash.
This presents challenges and opportunities for retailers. In the first instance, businesses need to keep up with the times and offer their customers the payment options they want. On the other hand, there is a need to focus on running the business and reduce time spent on administrative tasks such as reconciling card statements, making cash lodgements, and balancing the books.
Elavon, one of Ireland’s leading card payment providers, has recognised these challenges and has developed card payment solutions tailored to the needs of businesses to take advantage of the move to card and mobile payments. For businesses that experience long queues at specific times, the ability to offer customers contactless transactions can help reduce wait times, as they are quick and easy to process.
Our mission is to ensure businesses can accept all card and mobile payments seamlessly, get paid next day and have the information they need to run their businesses
In addition, businesses will get paid on the next business day for the transactions they accept, which can be quicker than it takes to lodge cash. Elavon is the only acquirer who can offer all businesses next day payment. Card payments are also far more secure than cash and cheaper to handle in the long run. Many Elavon customers have been able to significantly reduce their dependence on security firms for cash collections as a result of the increase in card payments.
Businesses switching to Elavon* can avail of a very attractive offer with €100 credited to their Elavon account, improved cash flow with next day payment and no joining fee – it’s simple to switch with an engineer on hand to install the card machine and train staff.
When it comes to running a business, data is key to making decisions. Business owners need to know what is happening at any time in their business to make informed decisions – what’s selling, when it is selling and at what price. This helps with stock control, staff rotas and understanding customer buying habits.
Talech, in association with Elavon, is an iPad-based point-of-sales solution connecting all these tasks in one place for a seamless and efficient customer and business experience. It combines an electronic point of sale system with a card payments system. This EPOS system allows businesses to accept card and cash payments, manage inventory, track employee hours, run customer promotions, and see what’s selling and what’s not selling each day so that they give customers what they want, when they want it. And, because the data is held in the cloud, the business owner can access reports anytime and from anywhere.
"We are proud to be Ireland's leading card payments provider to businesses", says Eric Horgan, Elavon's Ireland country manager.
“We believe it is important to understand the needs and challenges of business, such as getting paid quickly and having the right technology and information at the right time. At Elavon we work hard to deliver on these needs with our products and services. From large corporations to small and medium sized retailers and from bricks to clicks, our mission is to ensure businesses can accept all card and mobile payments seamlessly, get paid next day and have the system and information they need to run their businesses in today’s connected world.’’
Call Elavon today on 1800 995 085 or visit www.elavon.ie/switch
*Subject to Terms and Conditions. The campaign is open from 14 August 2017 until 6 October 2017. The successful applicant must be established and trading in Ireland for at least 24 months when applying and be receiving card transactions. Provided that the applicant has an open account with Elavon and is batching with Elavon then a one-off payment of €100.00 shall be paid by Elavon by reducing the fees payable by the business under the Customer Agreement within sixty (60) days of entering into the Customer Agreement and shown within either the first or second statement issued under the Customer.
Elavon Financial Services DAC, trading as Elavon Merchant Services, is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.