NEW REPORT: Getting SMBs Ready, Set, Going On Mobile Order-Ahead

Modern innovations have made technology from smartphones and mobile ordering apps to even virtual reality, well, a reality. Now that this technology is in the hands of consumers around the world, companies are increasingly counting on it to attract new customers and retain existing ones.

In the July Payments as a Service Tracker, PYMNTS explores how the latest payment solutions are helping merchants give their customer speedier and simpler solutions — all in an effort to win the business of new and existing customers alike.

Around the PaaS world

With technology like cashless payments systems and even virtual reality giving consumers new ways to pay for purchases, it seems a retail revolution could be on the horizon. Over the course of the past month, several providers launched new products and services that embrace this retail reinvention, many of which could contribute to changing the way all types of brick-and-mortar businesses operate.

Those changes could come quickly for travelers, especially those flying or staying in a hotel.

Verifone, for one, partnered with air transport IT company SITA to expand secure air travel payment acceptance. And, once travelers arrive at their gates and deplane, hospitality software provider Agilysis will offer its POS tech to the SH Group, allowing new reporting and payment capabilities. This integration will allow the hotel chain to offer guests new services, like the ability to order food or drinks from an outdoor location such as a pool or patio via new mobile order-ahead services.

To read about more new retail innovations and the rest of the headlines from around the PaaS space, check out the Tracker’s News and Trends section.

Getting SMBs set for mobile order-ahead

But, of course, mobile order-ahead services aren’t just for hotel guests — big name companies like Starbucks and Five Guys have built advanced ordering solutions that have given business a big boost. But can only the largest and most resource-laden businesses offer consumers this highly sought-after capability?

For the July Payments as a Service Tracker feature story, Jean-François Noël, CEO of FANS Entertainment and GOLO, talked to PYMNTS about how the company is helping smaller merchants adopt and adapt to mobile order-ahead technology.

“In a smaller merchant’s reality, very few are ready to invest $10,000, let alone $100,000, in an eCommerce website and a mobile ordering application,” Noël said. “GOLO provides a very secure environment, with all the benefits we’ve come to expect of online markets, at a very low cost.”

To read the full feature story and see who’s on top in our ranking of the best PaaS providers, download this month’s Tracker.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

To download the July edition of the PYMNTS.com Payments as a Service Tracker, click the button below.

About the Tracker

The PYMNTS.com Payments as a Service Tracker is designed to give an overview of the trends and activities of merchant platforms that not only enable payment processing of new and old technologies but also integrate with other features to improve the merchant’s experience, including customer engagement, security, omnichannel retail, analytics, inventory management, software and hardware management and more.