The next few months will be a pivotal time for e-commerce, not in establishing it further, but in the many innovations that will come.
As the economy becomes accustomed to reopening, it will mean that businesses have numerous channels to reach customers. No longer solely confined to just physical or online, the future will see solutions that mix the two, to create a seamless and integrated experience for both customer and business.
For Facilipay, which specialises in combining point of sales hardware with intuitive software, it’s been well prepared for this shift. Its managing director Barry Bruen mentions that the main evolution is how the entire purchasing experience for consumers has changed in recent times.
“Businesses are enthusiastic about the prospect of integrated payments infrastructure, such as the products we provide at Facilipay,” said Bruen. “Equally, consumers are increasingly seeking an omnichannel payment experience, and businesses are keen to respond.”
Much of Facilipay’s ethos moves businesses away from treating each channel as a separate entity and instead as one overarching experience. Presenting their operations in one main overview gives them better insights into their business while also providing customers with an enhanced payment experience.
The company has embodied this throughout many of its projects and services. Some, like click and collect and frictionless payments, are here to stay thanks to consumer enthusiasm and, as long as the quality of service evolves with customer expectations and it doesn’t become cost-prohibitive, that will remain the case.
Others, like the rollout of a Fast Track self-service kiosk at Dublin Airport, are alternative ways in which e-commerce has evolved.
Designed to streamline the purchasing experience, the service has proven to be cost-effective for the organisation as it negates the need for someone to be physically present to distribute the product.
Self-service checkouts are just one of many examples of the type of channels that e-commerce is helping grow and for a company of Facilipay’s expertise, simplifying this landscape for clients is key.
The move towards innovations like contactless and frictionless payment is what’s being reflected in their work with clients.
“Our client insights would certainly indicate that these innovations are moulding the future of e-payments,” said Bruen. “As consumers, we’ve become incredibly accustomed to the hyper-convenience offered by e-commerce and m-commerce, so naturally this level of expectation has been applied to bricks and mortar settings.”
“We aim to replicate the experience of online purchasing in physical premises and through developing solutions such as contactless payment and self-service kiosks, we enable our clients to do just that.”
As the consumer and business demands require it, looking for ways to enhance the payment experience is always key for Facilipay. In some cases, that can be connecting separate systems and channels, streamlining the payment process to ensure most, if not all, channels are covered and building robust payment acceptance technology.
Office buildings, gyms and spas, music festivals and education are just some of the sectors that Facilipay offers solutions for, highlighting just how diverse e-commerce solutions have become and the areas it can help enhance.
“At Facilipay, we are constantly focused on the future of payments, and how we can best serve our clients,” said Bruen. “We essentially remove the barriers to implementing and managing payment infrastructure by tailoring the product to fit the client’s requirements,” he said. “We identify the solution that works best and curate a bespoke platform that will seamlessly integrate with their existing operations.”
Creating a fully transparent view of their digital payments landscape from the very start ensures that the final product is customised to meet the client’s exact needs. It also follows continued compliance with regulations such as GDPR and PSD2 to ensure no issues arise further down the line.
Doing this ensures peace of mind for its clients, Bruen said, as they can focus on running their business.
As many businesses gradually return to their physical premises, demand for its services increase. One major trend that Bruen noticed is that while businesses want to offer flexibility to employees, they equally want to accommodate those who are returning to the office.
For that reason, its cashless payment solutions and engagement software have seen increased interest with Bruen expecting a strong growth trajectory from this.
“The Covid-19 pandemic solidified the importance of future-proofing operations for businesses and demonstrated the need to embed resilient infrastructure at every level,” he said. “From a payments perspective, our clients now wish to offer the very best in class and elevate their offering through implementing a system that brings consistent value to all parties.”
“That is why, as we continue to improve the purchasing experience for customers, we are steadfast in our determination to help businesses optimise their processes, while providing crucial insights and enabling them to make informed, data-led decisions that will grow their bottom line.”