Survey Findings: Contactless Checkout Here to Stay

Businesses and Consumers Adopting Contactless Payments

The crisis caused by the coronavirus has resulted in behavioral changes in how we pay for goods and services. The psychological factor of people deeming cash “unsanitary” — coupled with the perceived higher risk of spreading germs when handing over cards and receipts or touching screens and buttons — has business owners searching for solutions that limit physical interactions.

Shortly after COVID-19 arrived in the United States, our team took immediate steps to eliminate unnecessary interactions with our payment terminals by giving customers the option to disable receipt and signature prompts, creating a contactless checkout experience. The PayJunction team recently reached out to a group of customers from industries including retail, food service, veterinary, healthcare and automotive to gain insights from the frontline.

Our survey findings support the notion that contactless payments are here to stay. As one of our retail customers stated: "We plan on continuing to use the zero-touch features after the crisis since people will still be conscientious of public spaces and being more careful. Plus, it's a more streamlined checkout."

Survey Says? The ZeroTouch Terminal is Fast, Easy and Safe

A majority of business owners are pleased with the terminal features that combine to eliminate touchpoints and create a healthy, contactless checkout: customer-facing terminals, contactless payments, and disabling signatures and receipts. We also learned that 95% of businesses surveyed are doing their part to reduce risk by disinfecting their terminals at least once a day.

Our findings also highlighted the need for more education to help business owners understand any impacts on processing costs or risks associated with data security and fraud. Let’s take a closer look at the solutions driving “zero-touch” adoption.

Hello Contactless

Mastercard recently reported a 40% jump in contactless payments — including tap-to-pay and mobile pay — during the first quarter of 2020 as fears of contracting COVID-19 increased. Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga said the trend was being driven by consumers “looking for a quick way to get in and out of stores without exchanging cash, touching terminals, or anything else.”

“We have seen an increase in the use of contactless transactions across our customer portfolio,” said Randy Modos, President of PayJunction. “We think this trend will continue once the crisis subsides.”

Business owners should use a customer-facing terminal and promote the use of contactless cards and mobile wallets. In addition to eliminating the handover of cards, contactless payments are faster, and their advanced security features protect businesses from counterfeit card fraud. Even better, there are no extra fees associated with contactless payments.

Goodbye Signatures and Receipts

The card brands no longer require signatures for businesses that use EMV-enabled devices to process payments. Those same businesses are also not required to retain and store transaction receipts. If a disputed transaction takes place at an EMV-enabled terminal, card issuers are prohibited from submitting chargeback retrieval requests. This applies for all payment methods: swipe, dip, or contactless via card, phone or wearable.

Our patients love and prefer the new features of disabling signatures and receipts at checkout. It demonstrates that we are taking extra precautions to make our office safer for them."

Another customer had this to say about in-person payments: “Signatures are a hassle and provide no real value to the credit card process, even for fraudulent transactions."

The Takeaway

Disabling signatures and receipts stops the spread of germs from pens, paper and screens and saves time, labor and money. Plus, transactions are faster and business processes are streamlined.

How has your business gone contactless during this time?