Contactless payments are no longer optional. As demand grows, vertical SaaS platforms need to enable their clients with NFC payments, such as with tap-to-pay with phones.
Mobile payments just make sense for mobile businesses. However, home service companies are often dependent on dongles or additional devices. When those don't work or are forgotten, workers are left entering credit information manually, which undermines convenience and results in card-not-present (CNP) rates.
By offering contactless payments using a mobile phone, vertical SaaS platforms can solve all those problems for their customers. The needed NFC technology is already included in everything from smartphones to tablets, and phone tap-to-pay provides a flexible and easily implemented option for even the smallest business.
Consumers also increasingly expect to pay contactless by phone, and accepting tap-to-pay with phones improves cash flow and permits deeper integration with loyalty programs. Read on to learn more about how NFC payments can help your vertical SaaS platform stand out from the competition.
The Rise of the Contactless Payments App
The near-field communication (NFC) technology behind tap-to-pay with phones and NFC payment apps has been around for decades. Initial contactless payment adoption was spurred primarily by convenience. However, safety measures during the COVID-19 pandemic sped up adoption, leading to a worldwide market value of almost $1.2 billion by the end of 2022.
Now, experts predict a 21% compound annual growth rate for contactless payments through the end of the decade. By 2030, that will mean a worldwide market value of over $5.4 billion.
Future of Payments: Receiving Tap Payments on Phones
The widespread adoption of tap-to-pay has created a customer base that is familiar and comfortable with the technology. That opens up convenient new tap-and-pay mobile options for businesses, particularly within home service verticals.
Accepting tap-to-pay with a phone doesn't just provide a better option than paper checks or electronic invoices. With everything from tablets to smartwatches now NFC enabled, customers can pay with a card, a phone, or practically any device that connects to a digital wallet.
PayEngine's tap-to-pay functionality also saves your customers the trouble of charging and keeping track of card swipe hardware. The more hardware involved, the higher the chance something will fail. With NFC payments, so long as your customers have a charged phone, they can take payments.
The Importance of Tap-to-pay Functionality for Vertical SaaS
The key to a successful vertical SaaS offering is a one-stop experience that satisfies all of your client's needs. As the popularity of and demand for tap-to-pay continue to rise, NFC payment app functionality will be essential to meeting those needs in every vertical.
Staying Competitive by Future Proofing Platforms
The bread and butter of vertical SaaS is meeting specific and unique needs. The more needs a vertical SaaS company meets, the less likely clients are to look for an alternative.
While being able to accept tap and pay from phones, mobile devices and cards is currently a value add, it is set to become a necessity for your clients. Your home service vertical clients are likely already looking into the best NFC payment app for Android or iOS, or considering a competitor that offers integrated payments. PayEngine's tap-to-pay functionality, coupled with our other best-in-class experiences, can help you stand out to clients considering tap-to-pay with phones.
Even if one of your clients isn't looking at NFC payments right now, knowing it is an option ups the perceived value of working with you. Clients need to future-proof as well, and knowing a vertical SaaS company has more than they need assures them they will not have to go looking for a different provider down the road.
Developing New Revenue Streams
Integrating payments into a platform is more than just a value-add. Vertical SaaS providers that enable tap-to-pay with phones can profit from helping clients handle payments. They can also use that added revenue stream as a way to firm-up their relationships with clients.
With PayEngine's custom-label payment processing option, you can also use your role in processing payments as more than just straight revenue. From offering your clients free services to profit sharing, positioning yourself as a payments provider greatly increases the number and types of value adds you can offer.
Phone Tap-to-pay Meets Modern Consumer Expectations
Sophisticated consumers expect and even demand digital payment options as the default. Around 85% of consumers with digital wallets don't carry a physical wallet in their daily lives. The availability of contactless payments has even been linked to consumers switching preferred payment methods.
Using PayEngine's platform to offer your clients tap-to-pay on iPhone and Android helps them demonstrate their ability to stay current and meet consumer expectations. NFC payment apps don't just show consumers that your clients value their time. They also help your clients present a more professional image.
NFC Payment Apps Provide Enhanced Security and Privacy
PayEngine's custom label NFC tap and pay apps incorporate tokenization. With tokenization, there is no personally identifiable customer information or data to worry about. That lowers the exposure for your clients and can help their customers feel more at ease. The only information that enters your client's payment system is a digital token that stands in for the customer's data.
Businesses that accept tap-and-pay with phones also don't have to deal with credit card numbers. Your clients don't have to keep track of paper checks or tally cash receipts at the end of the day. They also don't have to worry about employee access to sensitive customer information.
NFC payment transmissions themselves are also physically relatively secure. The actual transmission range is only a few inches, meaning it is practically impossible for a third party to intercept an NFC transaction.
Tap-to-pay with Phones Streamlines the Transaction Experience
When consumers tap a phone to pay, the transaction is as straightforward and simple as possible. There are no signatures, no pins or passwords to enter, and they don't necessarily even have to find their wallet. As electronic and contactless payments have become ubiquitous, that kind of simplified transaction experience has become the norm for most consumers.
Whether your clients are taking a phone-to-phone tap payment with Android or Apple tap-to-pay, or their customers are using a card or other device, tap-to-pay using a phone fulfills those expectations. At the same time, while taking an NFC payment on Android or iOS devices can help keep your client's customers happy, there is plenty for your clients to like as well.
Tap and Pay Mobile Offers Higher Transaction Volume and Speed
Whether a plumber performing an emergency repair or a contractor quoting a major renovation, many different types of businesses gain from the speed and capacity provided by NFC payment apps. Everything is handled with a single flick of a wrist or tap of a screen.
For lower-dollar jobs such as house cleaning or regular maintenance, your clients don't have to deal with cash if customers are offered the more convenient option of a tap-and-pay NFC app. The higher transaction volume can also mean time freed up from invoicing, managing payments and making bank runs, which can translate into more time spent on tasks that actually make your clients money.
Less Infrastructure Means Lower Costs
Your clients already have the hardware needed for Apple or Google tap and pay. Once everything is set up with software and payment processors, it is relatively easy for those businesses to begin using tap-to-pay with phones. NFC payment apps on iOS and Android also require minimal training, and PayEngine's custom-label services can be integrated directly into your platform.
Those advantages hold true whether workers are on a call or at the office. Tap-to-pay with phones can even eliminate the need for point-of-sale (POS) terminals and mobile card readers. That means less equipment to buy, track, and maintain.
Improved User Experiences and Higher Brand Loyalty
Your clients can keep their customers coming back with a simpler payment experience, but an integrated user experience can do even more. Even the smallest businesses can easily offer loyalty programs and rewards with the help of software that keeps track of everything. Further, accepting tap-to-pay makes it even easier to present opt-in screens to consumers.
Integrating PayEngine's custom-label tap-to-pay functionality into your platform that clients already use to manage their businesses makes automation a breeze. Your clients can track work orders, payments and customer loyalty points all in one place. Electronic receipts can be sent without delay. Businesses can also track jobs from the moment a customer calls until everything is finalized and even integrate service reminders and courtesy calls to keep those customers coming back.
Handling the Heavy Lift of Payments Technology
Becoming a payments processor or payments facilitator is a significant undertaking. It requires regulatory knowledge, expensive certifications and even underwriting. Finding the right partner to provide a custom-label solution that fits the specific needs of your vertical SaaS clients is not necessarily any easier. If you are looking for a custom-label payment solution that does what you need by coupling the latest technology with customized solutions, processor optionality and easy integration, schedule a demo with PayEngine today.
