10 juuni Card Payments, POS Terminals and COVID-19

Moving away from cash

One of the most significant impacts COVID-19 has had on payments is a rejection of cash. Globally, a lack of accessibility to cash (due to travel restrictions) and a reluctance to use cash due to a concern about its potential to transmit disease has meant a surge in contactless payment methods. Taking the POS terminal to the customer expands the potential to do business during COVID-19 significantly for businesses across multiple sectors; a portable POS terminal with the flexibility to offer contactless payments as well satisfies an immediately growing requirement of customers and taps into a future payment trend.

Use of terminals

Card terminals have also been identified as a potential transmitter of COVID-19, dozens of customers per hour can touch the buttons of a payment terminal.

There is no reason to avoid or fear payment terminals, of course. Simply getting coronavirus on your fingers does not yet lead to an infection, as it cannot penetrate the skin. It is essential to wash hands, though, before touching your mouth, nose or eyes.  However, business owners should help their customers avoid both bacterial and viral infections. Payment terminals need to be kept clean, and hand sanitizers should be available at payment points.

Viruses hate contactless payments

CONTACTLESS payments are set to increase and becoming a more preferred payment method in countries where these methods were not very popular earlier, things have changed amid the spread of COVID-19. Contactless and digital payment methods require less physical interaction and are more secure.

Contactless payments represented 32 % of all card payments made in Estonia, and they were supported by 87 % of payment terminals. Altogether 77 % of bank cards issued in Estonia include the contactless payment option. Around 85 % of payments are made within the current limit of €25. When the limit is increased to €50, it should allow for 95 % of card payments to be carried out without contact. (Banking Union Data)

Ellore started last year the project to upgrade all card payments terminals to enable contactless transactions for above limit sums with PIN verification. 

Sums which are above the limit can also be paid by contactless but the PIN code entry is required

People can still set a contactless payment limit on their bank card. People still need to enter their PIN occasionally when they exceed a certain number of transactions or the total sum of payments. Here, there may be differences from bank to the bank because the conditions for using card-based payment limits and contactless mobile apps vary from bank to bank.

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