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Contactless payments - a real benefit for customers and retailers

19 April 2017
by EuroCommerce -- last modified 19 April 2017

Retailers have been at the forefront of introducing innovation and new technology to meet the ever-changing demands and needs of their customers. Contactless technology is another step in making shopping easier and quicker for customers, and allows retailers to serve them more quickly and easily.


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To take advantage of the potential benefits that contactless technology can bring, retailers need to equip themselves and their staff to use the equipment properly and help customers with any issues which might arise.

EuroCommerce has published a new guide for retailers, giving easy-to-follow advice on how to get the most out of this new technology.

Contactless cards – and increasingly apps on mobile devices - present a viable and convenient alternative to cash. They allow payment for small transactions to be completed much more quickly, reducing queuing and waiting times for customers and, as a number of studies have shown, can lead to increased customer footfall.

Christian Verschueren, Director-General of EuroCommerce said: "In a world where people are under greater time pressure than ever, if customers see long queues in a shop, they may either not go in, or give up waiting. Contactless technology can be introduced relatively easily alongside existing payment systems. A number of merchants that have adopted technology to handle contactless cards have reported a time saving in payments and a significant upturn in footfall."

This guide was developed with EuroCommerce members based on a similar guide by the UK Cards Association. EuroCommerce is grateful to them and for the input received from the Euro Retail Payments Board (of the European Central Bank), the European Payments Council (EPC) and the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC).

EuroCommerce is the principal European organisation representing the retail and wholesale sector. It embraces national associations in 31 countries and 5.4 million companies, both leading multinational retailers such as Carrefour, Ikea, Metro and Tesco, and many small family operations. Retail and wholesale provide a link between producers and 500 million European consumers over a billion times a day. It generates 1 in 7 jobs, providing a varied career for 29 million Europeans, many of them young people. It also supports millions of further jobs throughout the supply chain, from small local suppliers to international businesses. EuroCommerce is the recognised European social partner for the retail and wholesale sector.

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