Industry Insights From John Rozek
As a founding director of both Game Payment Technology and Polar Moment, John has over 20 years of experience at the forefront of the payments industry. He is a recognised and respected professional across the retail payments industry, including delivering the world’s first integrated EMV solution in 2001. Over the last 2 years, John has led the evolution of the groundbreaking Game Payment solution, helping the amusement industry to meet the challenge of an increasingly cashless world.
In this series of blog posts, John shares his insights into payment solutions for the gaming and amusements industry. If you are a manufacturer, operator or supplier of gaming and amusement machines, here’s John’s advice for you!
What is the future of payments in a post-pandemic world?
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, cash was dying. Depending on the type of venue, between 60% and 90% of all transactions were cashless. However, COVID-19 has exposed the pitfalls of businesses neglecting investment in cashless payments, as this has caused another seismic shift.
A growing number of retailers, both big and small, now refuse cash. Many have opted to go card-only over the past year. According to Which?, one third of people were unable to pay with cash between March and December 2020. Grocery stores, pubs, and restaurants often refuse. The matter has gone so far that lobbyists are now calling on the government to protect cash acceptance for people without access to smart phones and other technology.
Global cashless payment volumes are set to increase by more than 80% from 2020 to 2025, from about 1tn transactions to almost 1.9tn, and to almost triple by 2030, according to analysis by PwC and Strategy&.
Cash will not die for many years. However, it will never recover. Instead, more and more people are banking and paying via their smart phones. Cheques can still be used, but when was the last time you wrote one?
My advice to operators is, if you haven’t done so already, now is the time to start investing in cashless technologies. Have a read of my previous blog posts around choosing the right cashless solution and decide what works best for your organisation. Do not get left behind while your competitors take advantage of changing consumer behaviour.
The payment ecosystem is moving at pace towards smartphone payments. As innovations in cashless payments build momentum, retailers will need to keep their eye on the ball and continue to evolve and innovate for their customers. Those that can keep up with the fast pace of digital innovation will be the ones to succeed.