COVID, Contactless and a shifting market

COVID, Contactless and a shifting market

The payments industry agrees that COVID-19 will accelerate the adoption of contactless payments but it will also add fuel to shifts occurring at the merchant level.  Private investment in payments has been driven by many things like great cash flow based on a reoccurring revenue model and defensible technology. Several factors will drive a change in payments that were already shifting in the marketplace. Processor change at the merchant level is generally driven by three key events: Change of ownership, price difference or a shift in technology.

Processors, Acquirers and ISO’s have historically focused on the first two. Technology has emerged over the last decade as the king catalyst for merchant change. Merchants have moved to integrated payments whether it be through an updated online experience or converting to a modern point-of-sale(POS) system like Clover, EPOSnow or Square. COVID- 19 and its enormous reach will add to ongoing shifts from cash to card, from in store to online and from dip to wave. The very nature of contactless as a solution for commerce in the age of Coronavirus presents an opportunity to shift technology and therefore merchant service providers. Traditional ISO’s and legacy processors long dependent on price over value will see a increased attrition and churn in their portfolios.