ETA Expert Insights: Six Key Steps to Communicating Contactless to Merchants

By the ETA Communications Committee.

The addition of contactless payments to the American payments ecosystem is well underway. Issuers of some of the largest credit card portfolios in the United States are beginning to transition to dual-interface NFC EMV cards, and over 90 percent of new terminals ship with contactless hardware. Further, over 60 percent of face-to-face transactions on Visa’s network happening at contactless-enabled merchant terminals, and according to ETA’s recent State of Mobile Payments Report 2019, 55 million people in the U.S. used their smartphone to make a payment at the point of sale last year.

With this transition in consumer payments behavior comes the opportunity for merchants to “tap” into the added convenience, speed and security of payments technology. A better payments experience for both merchant and consumer means a happier – and stickier – customer for merchant services providers. But it’s not always easy to communicate changes to the status quo to merchants in your portfolio. Follow these six steps to make sure you are leaving nothing on the table when talking to your merchants about contactless payments.

1. Identify Your Communications Channel

Just like building a shed or fixing a broken sink, effective communication is all about finding and using the right tool for the job. Just as you wouldn’t want to use a chainsaw to fix a sink or a plunger to build a shed, you should be sure that you identify the right way to get in touch with your merchants. Is your email list long and have high response rates, or do your merchants prefer a more personal touch like phone calls or walk-ins? Is your blog a popular destination but your social media a desert for engagement? Ask these questions and then develop a strategy that meets your merchants where they are. And remember to keep the message appropriate with the medium – nobody likes reading content that feels mismatched, like overly long emails or a sloppy phone script.

2. Get the Message Right by Identifying Your Merchant Demographics

Once you’ve found the channel, you have to make sure the content is right too. A one-size-fits-all approach is not necessarily the right one. What matters – and what works – for a mom-and-pop shop is probably not the same as a quick-service restaurant or a large retailer. These factors – the priorities, concerns, even language – influence the best ways to communicate the value of activating contactless.  Make sure you understand these idiosyncrasies and qualities of the verticals you are talking to so that your message resonates. And above all, be straightforward. Merchants don’t want shiny talking points – though it never hurts to have some ready to go. They want real pros and cons about how making these changes will help their business.

3. Find the Right Data

Building off the first two steps – understanding the “who” and “how” – comes the” what.” Different data points are more important to different audiences (as discussed above), so arming yourself with best, latest and most relevant research is important. For example, for a retailer like a coffee shop looking to engage young and tech-minded users with a contactless strategy, cite that they can tap into 71 percent of Gen Z consumers aged 16-24 and 73 percent of millennials aged 25-34 who say they are likely to use mobile payment apps on their smartphones by enabling contactless acceptance. And for retailers of all sizes, it’s useful to know that studies indicate contactless and mobile payments increase the size and frequency of consumer spend. These are examples of many metrics and statistics that can help you connect with your merchant – keep an eye on Transaction Trends and ETA’s Industry Affairs department for more research and actionable insights. You can download ETA’s latest Mobile Payments Report here for some insights on contactless mobile payments, for example.

4. Keep the End User in Mind

At the end of the day, merchants want to implement technology that helps them attract and retain their customers. Regardless of merchant size or vertical, they’ll only go through the trouble of turning on contactless if you make it clear to them that it will help their end-user experience and drive up sales. As you navigate developing your message, and finding the data to support it, make sure that you keep a messaging frame that keeps the benefits to the user experience in mind. Contactless payments are faster, more convenient, and can open the door to smart loyalty and marketing tools through mobile wallets. Keep that end-user at the forefront of your conversations on benefits and value.

5. Take a Consultative Approach

The payments technology industry nowadays is one that pivots on a consultative sale. But just like signing new merchants, communicating contactless effectively also requires you to approach the issue like a consultative partner to the merchant. Remember, merchants ultimately have to sell their customers on the addition of contactless to their payment options, too. So consider providing tools and resources like signage, cashier training, FAQs, walkthroughs and guideline documents to help them get the most out of activating contactless payments. Developing these types of resources time investment you’ll have to make at the beginning, but it will pay off when your merchants and their customers are happier with faster, more secure and more convenient contactless transactions.

6. Note What Works, and What Doesn’t. Then Learn From It

Even the best laid plans sometimes don’t go exactly as planned, and as payments professionals, we need to be ready to adapt. After all, this isn’t the industry’s first crack at drumming up excitement among merchants and consumers about contactless. Every touchpoint with a merchant, positive or negative, is a learning opportunity. If a particular channel proves to be ineffective, a message doesn’t resonate, or a merchant’s response differs from what you expected, make sure you listen and identify what isn’t working about your current plan. There isn’t one right way to communicate something, but there is a wrong way: not listening and adapting.