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COVID-19 drives contactless payments; new emphasis on sanitation

The coronavirus pandemic has driven a preference for self-checkout and contactless purchases. Will the unattended retail industry be able to assure customers that touchscreens and other surfaces are sanitary?

Image courtesy of iStock.

April 29, 2020 by Elliot Maras — Editor, Kiosk Marketplace & Vending Times

Editor's Note: This is part two in a two-part series on COVID-19's impact on unattended retail.

While the coronavirus pandemic has created incalculable damage to the world economy, it has also driven a preference for self-service purchasing which has the potential to boost the self-service industry.

And while no one can predict the future, kiosk industry leaders believe consumer awareness of airborne risks will stay fresh in peoples' minds well beyond the current pandemic, as noted in part one of this two-part series.

One question naturally arises, however: won't this new awareness of potential risk make consumers less inclined to use touchscreens and hand-held payment cards?

Kiosk industry leaders held mixed views on this question. However, most agreed the coronavirus pandemic will accelerate the adoption of mobile commerce and contactless payments. 

Mobile payments rising

For those businesses still accepting payments on-premises, 27% reported an increase in contactless payments made through smartphones and contactless cards, according to an early April report from the Electronic Transactions Association and The Strawhecker Group. The survey was conducted between March 27 and March 30, 2020 and included a representative sample of over 350 small businesses across U.S. regions and industries. 

Customers are also conducting more mobile purchases, the survey found. Restaurants have seen the most dramatic changes as consumers have moved from eating in restaurants to delivery and take-out. Since the start of the pandemic, on-site card transactions have fallen in half for restaurants while phone transactions have doubled. 

Mobile marries sanitation with convenience

"Contactless payments in all forms will become more desired, and the barrier to entry will be lower as people become more aware of and comfortable with the concept," said Laura Miller, a kiosk industry veteran who currently serves as corporate business development manager at Vispero, an assistive technology provider for the visually impaired. "This was happening anyway, but I believe that this pandemic will accelerate the adoption of this technology by consumers, and therefore, by deployers."

Miller was among those who see the adoption of mobile pay accelerating for safety reasons in addition to convenience.

Paresh Patel, founder of PayRange, a payment technology provider for unattended retail, agreed that contactless payment will become more widespread.

"Users will think twice about handling a card which is also often passed to retail clerks and restaurant servers," he said. "Second, it's just more convenient, especially for cash buyers. For example, in laundry, often consumers must go to a bank to get a roll of quarters first. With the quarantines in effect, users who have held back on mobile payment are finally getting set up to save that trip to the bank. Once the crisis is over, they will keep using the more convenient approach."

A boost to facial recognition

Yale Goldberg, vice president of business development at Cali Group, a technology solutions provider that owns Miso Robotics, a robotics maker, and a chain of 50 fast casual burger restaurants called Caliburger, sees a growing acceptance of paying using face recognition, a technology that Cali Group has deployed in restaurants. 

"Facial recognition happens to be a great way to conduct contactless identification," Goldberg said. "And that contactless identification can be used for payment processing and past order recall in drive-thrus and on payment terminals, entrances and more."

Another benefit of "card not present" payment is that it reduces the transaction fee of a card transaction, Goldberg said. 

Chris Corsbie, senior director of marketing and communications at Elatec USA, a provider of radio frequency identification solutions, concurred with Goldberg that non-contact authentication will gain favor with consumers because of perceived sanitation risks from touchscreens, keypads, fingerprint readers and anything requiring physical contact.

"We fully expect an increase in demand as manufacturers of vending and dispensing kiosks, printers, door locks and many other devices consider not just the convenience and security of RFID and mobile device use, but now also the hygiene," Corsbie said.

Keep touchscreens safe

Sam Zietz, founder and CEO of TouchSuite, a provider of POS and financial technology, agreed that consumers are more wary of using touchscreens, but they are far more reluctant to engage in face-to-face interactions with employees or handle cash.

Zietz thinks a solution will be to have sanitation wipes next to kiosks and signs that advise customers the kiosks are being cleaned.

"If kiosk deployers make available to customers wipes that are appropriate for use on electronic touchscreens, then this perception (of unsanitary touchscreens) will become moot," agreed Miller of Vispero. "In addition, kiosks should be part of the store/location's cleaning protocols. Many locations have publicized their updated cleaning regimen to make visitors more comfortable. This cleaning regimen should include regular attention to kiosks as well."

Elo, a provider of interactive touchscreens, has reported a 24-fold year-over-year increase in page views for its page on touchscreen cleaning methods which has been updated multiple times in March to align with the latest CDC and EPA guidance for cleaning products for protecting against COVID-19. 

Hope Neiman, chief marketing officer at Tillster, a provider of kiosks for restaurants, thinks that any consumer reluctance to use touchscreens is temporary. At the same time, she thinks businesses that use kiosks need to be vigilant in communicating their cleaning methodologies to guests.

Mara Behrens, vice president of design and marketing at Chowbotics, which makes a robotic salad vending machine called Sally, offered a similar view.

"I think companies and consumers will step up to make the touchscreen interfaces as safe as possible," Behrens said. "Cleaning protocols will become more rigorous and frequent. Right now at Chowbotics we're providing gloves next to Sally to minimize the spread of germs, and we're looking into other possible long term solutions."  

What about products in open containers?

PayRange's Patel thinks there could be more apprehension about touching packaged products left in open containers, such as in micro markets.

"We think there will be growing risk of food placed in open, unattended markets because there is no telling the number of people who have handled the packaging," he said. "One benefit of micro markets is that a consumer can handle the product — pick it up, look at the labels, touch it to see if it is fresh, etc. But that very benefit introduces new risks that are not as present in vending." 

Behrens of Chowbotics agreed with Patel.

"I don't imagine anyone will be going back to a self-serve salad bar or buffet service anytime soon," Behrens said. "There are entire sections of grocery stores, for example, that have been shut down and likely will remain so. We will also see the elimination of self-service condiments, utensils, etc. in fast casual and QSR dining. Self-service ordering and payment, however, especially contactless payment, will probably become the new normal, and this adoption will be greatly sped up by the coronavirus." 

"There is no playbook to understand how consumers will be impacted in the long-term by this, but our belief is that consumers are in fact learning new behaviors and adapting to the situation in ways that will form some lasting changes," said Patel.

For an update on how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting the kiosk industry, click here.

About Elliot Maras

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Elliot Maras is the editor of Kiosk Marketplace and Vending Times. He brings three decades covering unattended retail and commercial foodservice.