How to power payment processes in store with Retail POS Systems

In a world which is fast becoming a contactless society and the rise in consumers using digital wallets it's essential that you have the best retail POS (point of sale) system, to be able to accept transactions. 

A retail POS system, which is also referred to as a card payment machine, is essentially the place where your customer can make a payment for products or services from a fixed location in store (countertop card machine) or on the go (portable card machine). They are designed to speed up payments, shorten queues and transform the payment process for both you and your customers in a safe and secure way. 

Every retail POS system comprises both software and hardware which generate data for you to run a profitable business. 

Benefits of pos systems:

• They allow you to accept the growing range of preferred payment types by customers

• The are fast and reliable

• They help reduce queues

• The allow you to be able to process refunds, offer gratuity, cashback and dynamic currency conversion with ease

• Allow a higher level of customer service

• Comply with EMV and PCI requirements 

With Opayo’s Pay@Counter, you can integrate your retail card payment terminal with your till so once you scan an item, the price is automatically transferred from the till to the terminal. Rest assured you’ll be able to clear queues by providing customers with a fast, simple, convenient payment solution.

Revolutionise in-store experiences using Retail ePOS Systems

An electronic point of sale system (or ePOS system) is an electronic way of letting your customers pay for goods or services through specific ePOS software and hardware. Unlike traditional POS systems as described earlier, they mostly operate online, where they store information securely in a cloud. 

Retail ePOS systems essentially join up back-office and shop-floor operations to create a streamlined retail management system. They go one step further than POS systems and depending on your business needs, they can help speed up processes such as accounting, stock management and sales performance anytime which are all vital in retail. 

They can also assist with capturing transactional data, and create reports on your sales and products from the data captured. They also allow you to track and monitor your business’ performance from one secure place.

Retail ePOS systems allow you to do all of the above by integrating with several different types of devices, such as touch-screen tablets, computer keyboards and shop barcode scanners. They are also user friendly, meaning that with only a few minutes training, you’ll be able to get up and running with the system.

Key benefits of retail ePOS systems include:

• Improve Customer Experience

EPOS systems hold real-time inventories, so you can perform a quick stock search on the shop floor. You can also order items directly from your supplier, and explain to your customer when their purchase will be available for collection.

• Inventory Management

A good ePOS system gives you an accurate picture of your stock levels in real time at any time. This helps you to minimise sell-outs and ensure you’re not holding more stock than you need. 

• Detailed Sales Analysis Reports

ePOS systems record every transaction in great detail. You can use this information to identify shopping trends, allowing you to tailor your business accordingly. 

• Efficient Staff Management

ePOS systems allow you to manage and monitor staff schedules and rotas. A staff member can sign in for work using a code, a card or a fob, and the hours worked can be fed into a payroll system for automated payments.

• Accounting Integration

The latest ePOS systems are linked to accountancy software and can assist with managing invoices, bill payments, payroll, expenses etc. 

• Accurate Cash Management

If your business experiences very busy periods, cash can build up quickly on the shop floor which can be a risk. An EPOS system can help by providing you with a cash report at any time of the day — letting you know exactly how much cash should be in each register’s drawer. 

•  Digital Receipts

In today’s world not everyone wants a paper receipt, which is why the latest ePOS technology can send a digital receipt to an email address. 

• Marketing Opportunities

With a huge number of reports available you can identify trends and consumer preferences that can be used to drive effective marketing and advertising strategies enabling you to reach the right people.

Level up your business with a secure online payment gateway

A payment gateway, such as Opayo, allows retailers to process credit and debit card payments for traditional brick and mortar stores and ecommerce sites. The ‘gateway’ is the cash register in an electronic transaction so in physical stores, payment gateways consist of the point of sale (POS) terminals used to accept payments by card or by phone. And in online stores, online payment gateways are the “checkout” portals used to enter credit card information or credentials for services such as PayPal.

Using a secure payment gateway is important for retailers because they help validate your customer’s card details securely, ensure the funds are available and eventually enable you to get paid. A payment gateway is also a way to help protect your customer’s payment data. For online retailers, a payment gateway relays the information from you, the merchant, to the acquirer and the issuing bank using data encryption to keep unwanted threats away from the sensitive card data. They also help protect retailers from risk of fraud, expired cards, insufficient funds, closed accounts or exceeding credit limits.

With the rise in online payments it’s even more vital retail businesses invest in them. 

The benefits of an online payment gateway include: 

• They allow you to start taking card payments via your website, your phone and by email. 

• A payment Gateway ensures your website remains open and with  online spending via card growing rapidly it helps you make sales and take payment at any time of the day.

• A payment gateway also lets you take payment by phone, which is handy for people who aren’t comfortable paying for goods online.  

• All transactions are wrapped in layers of encryption to protect data and reduce fraud this also helps to reassure customers and build confidence in your brand.   

• Meet’s PCI Compliance standards which help to protect businesses and shoppers from data theft and fraud. Businesses who accept credit and debit card payments, whether it be online, by mail, over the phone or via a card machine are expected to be PCI compliant. Opayo has the highest level (level 1) of PCI DSS certification.

Use Cloud Connect to bring the digital world to your store

In today’s world people are using multiple channels and devices when making a purchase, therefore, it's vital retailers are able to deliver a consistent brand and shopping experience.  Cloud Connect technology helps to do this by bridging the gap between digital and physical environments, making shopping easier than ever before for consumers.

Cloud connect integrates an ecommerce website and in-store ePOS system into a single view which has multiple benefits for both business and consumer, for example, reducing queue times and generating 10x more revenue. 

Those in the retail, as well as other industries, are seeing a huge potential with cloud technology and most of them are using it to their advantage. 

Benefits of Cloud Connect include: 

• Improved Channel Operations

Retailers who have cloud-based solutions will help simplify their payment systems and deliver a better more personalised customer experience. 

• Higher Supply Chain Visibility

With the cloud, retailers can have easy access to their supply chain systems and real-time status of consignments, digitised documents from suppliers, carriers, logistics providers, brokers etc.

• Better Merchandising Decisions

Cloud computing can provide meaningful insights about customer preferences that can help in making merchandising decisions. Retailers can delve into data and look at customer buying trends and can decide about what to stock, how to stock and how to promote.

• Personalised Customer Service

Data can provide real customer insights and help retailers offer a more personalised offering and customer service. Cloud services can merge the in-store data with the digital data to offer best solutions to their customers.

Overall, the power and flexibility of cloud connect can help improve customer experience, cut down on costs and make the overall business process more efficient. 

Read here how Opayo helped Office Shoes implement Cloud Connect in their stores to enhance their retail payment system, providing their customers with an online shopping experience in store, by having access to their complete range of products, with free next day delivery. All sales are placed by the staff, an important part of increasing store management buy-in, as well as driving up revenue.

Get started with our retail payment solutions

Here at Opayo we can help you find the right retail payment solutions in order to meet your customers needs and allow them to pay with greater convenience and ease via ecommerce, debit or credit card, contactless or mobile and digital wallets etc. 

We work closely with retailers such as Kurt Geiger, Oliver Bonas, Wren Kitchen and Sofa.com, to help find the right solutions which are unique to them and ultimately are going to be valuable to help grow business.