mPoS Terminals Benefiting SMEs

Article authored by Mr. Sunil Khosla, India Transact Services (Head Digital Business - Retail)

India PoS Terminals Market size is set to exceed USD 3 billion by 2024 and estimates show that the IndianPoS terminals market is projected to grow at a CAGR of over 11% during 2017 – 2022. While the growth of PoS terminals in India has largely been in the fixed PoS terminals segment, portable PoS and Mobile PoS will increase the market share exponentially in the near future. mPOS terminals are likely to witness the highest growth rate in India PoS terminals market for hassle-free, user-friendly, lower cost and portability factors. This growth will primarily be witnessed amongst the SMEs and MSMEs. Mobile Point of Sale (POS) terminals are gaining popularity among retailers across India. 

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) that do not use mPoS terminals are at a disadvantage because mobile PoS terminals help provide superior service to customers and improve productivity. SMEs recognise the benefits of mPoS and are eagerly adopting them. 

Mentioned below are the ways mPoS terminals are helpful to SMEs:

Staff Can Serve Customers Better

SMEs deploying mPOS terminals offer a convenient shopping experience to their customers. The payment need not be received at a fixed spot thereby allowing sales personnel to attend to customers in a flexible manner. mPOS terminals enhance the transparency during sales process. e-charge slips can be sent directly to customers. Due to the possibility of backend integration, mPOS is also useful for evolved SMEs with existing payment acceptance infrastructure. 

These terminals facilitate instant digital transactions and eliminate the need to hold cash and carry exact change. Digital transactions on mPoS devices are secure and devices can be easily connected with smartphones to accept payments when needed. They are ideal for payment acceptance, especially for retailers because they are economical, handy, durable and have low infrastructure requirements as compared to other modes of payment acceptance. 

Secure Payments

Many online shoppers prefer payment-on-delivery mode and use their debit/credit cards on mPOS terminals carried by delivery personnel for these payments.  If a business model entails collecting cash after the product/service is delivered, then mPOSis the answer to problems such as counterfeiting, pilferage, security measures involved with personnel handling cash. These terminals are popular with logistics companies, start-ups, traffic police, quick service restaurants, and others because the device is portable and can be carried anywhere easily to accept payments. 

Eliminate Long Lines 

Customers hate waiting in long lines. In an increasingly fast-paced world, time is a luxury, and very few can afford wasting it. SMEs that use mPoS terminals value their time and that of their customers. People are more likely to buy from businesses where they know the time needed to make a payment will be minimal. Conversely, long lines leading to cash registers drive away many consumers. SMEs that use mPoS terminals can serve individual customers quickly.

Supporting the environment

By paying digitally via Mpos, customers are indirectly preserving paper and saving trees by opting to receive the chargeslips digitally (over email or SMS).

Low Installation Costs :

If you are a traditional retailer with almost no existing POS setup in your business, it would involve a lot of money to get a telephone connection or a SIM Card along with the card swiping machine. On the other hand, Mpos devices are available at affordable rates.

Employees Prefer mPoS Terminals

Mobile POS terminals benefit employees, as well. Research shows that employees prefer using mPoS systems over traditional PoS ones. A likely reason for this ismPoS terminals make their job easier. Salespersons equipped with mPoS systems work more productively and exert less effort. In a survey by Capterra, over 60% of employees stated that using mPoS terminals made their jobs easier. 

Workspace is Better Utilised 

Businesses using mPoS systems better utilise their workspace. They can do away with dedicated cash registers and instead use such space to display additional merchandise. In urban areas where real estate is at a premium, using mPoS systems can lead to a considerable increase in revenues. 

In the past, many SMEs were reluctant to use PoS terminals because they felt the bank transaction fees accompanying them did not justify their use. Today SMEs that use PoS terminals discover they more than explain additional transactions cost. Since demonetisation, familiarity with digital purchases has increased. Consumers have become accustomed to making payments with cards, and many don't expect to pay any other way. Hence for many SMEs absence of mPoS terminals is the cause of fewer sales. 

The trend concerning digital payment point singularly to one direction: more people will pay using cards in the following year than the year prior. Businesses that use mPoS terminals take advantage of this powerful shift and attract customers by delivering an excellent experience. Their employees are also more productive, and they use precious resources like office space optimally. They also generate data which may well be nearly as valuable to them as the products and services they sell. These are strong arguments for using mPoS terminals.