With 44,000 POS terminals per million inhabitants in 2021, Spain ranks as the 4th largest park of payment terminals in the world, only behind Italy, Brazil and the UK. However, the functionalities do not cover a relevant part of the needs of customers who, having a wide variety of payment methods, still tend to use cash in high percentages that range between 43% and 31% in retail , hospitality or transport, according to the latest Minsait Payment Methods Trends report.
The magnitude of the figures shows the room for improvement in the Spanish POS park for these market segments to advance in the digital transformation of their business models. Banks and payment institutions are called upon to evolve their parks of devices developing projects that integrate value-added applications with enough attractiveness for business, as well as benefits according to customer demand. There is a window of opportunity in the market for a global suite of android solutions be able to contribute efficiencies to a competitive and profitable business in the shortest time. What is required to tackle this challenge successfully?
Android POS, the payment smartphone as the engine of business transformation
Android devices have a payment module and independent and customizable apps, giving them the flexibility that does not exist in traditional POS. Likewise, they improve the user and business experience thanks to an intuitive interface in the image and likeness of that of the smartphones that we all use on a daily basis. They also allow fast developments thanks to programming language independenceminimizing the time to market and, consequently, the costs of the project.
Open architecture devices resemble a smartphone in the ability to integrate value-added applications, turning the POS into a tool for much more than collection. They make it easier for the business to incorporate new products and services such as insuring the purchase made, requesting a taxi, reserving a restaurant, managing the tip, dividing a bill or conducting a satisfaction surveyexpanding its offer while building customer loyalty.
These are some of the advantages that reside in the new Android devices, terminals that have become essential for businesses when they wish to offer a specialized application repository. Undoubtedly, payment network managers have to exploit the potential of having their own applications marketplace, which they make available to their customers to increase sales of the distribution channel, as well as control the parameters for a more efficient management of the net.
Own marketplace, profitability showcase
Migrating a fleet of devices to the Android ecosystem does not necessarily imply having its own store; However, having a private and multi-brand market brings multiple benefits, such as authorizing the selection and prior auditing of third-party applications to be included, monetizing said value-added Apps by marketing them under the purchase or subscription model, as well as promoting the functionalities own. All this makes this digital showcase of Apps an innovative brand identity support.
It should also be noted that the private marketplace is scalable to the business opportunities that ariseas well as compatible with any device, allowing the selection of models and the simultaneity of manufacturers in the park.
What resources are necessary to manage your own marketplace? Much less than you might imagine if the solution also includes global management software.
MDM, or how to manage the payment network in one click
The MDM is the remote manager of the fleet of POS terminals that allow you to control the terminals and installed apps automatically and unassisted, minimizing execution times.
This system facilitates the control and auditing of the devices, achieving preventive maintenance that reduces the number of incidents.
It should also be noted that the software allows the monitoring of downloads, the activity of installed apps, or the geolocation of devices, making the management of the POS fleet easier and more profitable than ever.
The evolution of the payment method business poses challenges that traditional players must address in order to maintain leadership in a more competitive market. We are in the transition to the Android ecosystem; Despite the fact that there are already significant POS parks deployed with this technology, its full functionality has not yet been exploited. It is urgent to address the current challenge accompanied by a technological partner that has in its portfolio a global suite such as that of Necomplus, with its own solutions such as Ágora Marketplace, MDM, the Artemispay payment solution, Necompay – Payment App – as well as the Application Hub, also highlighting the versatility offered by working with multi-brand devices. The company, with nearly 30 years of experience, guarantees the response capacity demanded by customers in Iberia and Latin America, rigorously complying with the requirements of agility, efficiency and differential value, which are key at this time in such a competitive payment sector .
