Have we entered into a cashless society?

For many years now, cash has been replaced by debit and credit cards, which are being replaced by e-wallets and digital currencies. Before Covid-19, the move to a cashless society was happening at its own pace. The pandemic accelerated the movement radically. According to a Forbes article : “in 2021, still 19% of transactions in the US were cash transactions, and cashless payment volumes are expected to further increase by 43% between now and 2025.”

Indeed, payment behaviours and preferences differ broadly within individual countries and regions, but the impact that Covid-19 has had on the payments industry is worldwide. And that is something we witness in Luxembourg. In a survey conducted by the LHoFT and The Payments Association EU in December 2021, we learned that: “a cashless future has become more palpable to the population in Luxembourg, with roughly half of the respondents, uniformly across age groups, indicating they would be comfortable living in a cashless society.”

So Cash or Payconiq?

As a Luxembourg-based company developing digital payment services we will investigate in this article how electronic payment methods impact the Luxembourg population, the core advantages of the Payconiq solutions, and also what are the following trends to watch.

The rise of electronic payment methods post Covid-19: a winning case for Payconiq

As explained in a webinar “Focus on Payments ” in September 2020 organised by Luxembourg for Finance, a significant increase in smaller merchant’s and customer’s behaviour pivoted to online purchases after Covid-19, and this trend will last. Remote payment has become mainstream, whether for practical or health reasons (not physically touching cash).

Thanks to Payconiq solutions, sending or receiving money from people using a phone number became pretty easy. It also became very convenient to pay bills (insurance, electricity…) in just a few seconds, paying in shops with your phone and paying online without needing to input or store credit card details. Beyond consumers, Payconiq Luxembourg is also a great help for small businesses that do not have a cash register system, which is often the case for financial reasons.. Indeed, small shops such as mobile bars, food trucks, or pop-up stores have gained independence and flexibility using the Payconiq system.

Payconiq, the alternative to the traditional payment terminal

Thanks to its technology, experience, and know-how, Payconiq Luxembourg offers an alternative to traditional Point of Sale (POS) terminals. Payconiq is at the forefront of the SoftPoS revolution. SoftPoS, known as Software Point of Sale, is a revolutionary new technology that allows merchants to accept card payments directly on their phones or devices without additional hardware. This enables businesses to turn their devices into Point of Sale (POS) payment terminals, meaning card readers. This trend is exciting, and there is a lot to look forward to with SoftPoS, notably for SMEs, as it could help them to grow their businesses and improve their offer. Furthermore, implementing the QR code for payments in the SoftPOS system is easy. For instance, ServiPay, a payment solutions platform based in Luxembourg, has integrated Payconiq QR code payment on its PAX A920 terminal, which makes life easier for merchants.

Here are some examples that have bypassed the terminal altogether:

Shabu, an Asian restaurant based in Luxembourg, uses Payconiq for their home deliveries. Customers order on the Shabu website or by phone, which is then delivered to their homes, and they pay via the Payconiq QR code directly. This saves Shabu from having to have 3 or 4 terminals and carry them around. In this particular restaurant and with this methodology, 90% of customer payments are made via Payconiq.

We could also take as another example of a merchant in Luxembourg, Lëtzebuerger Geméis, a vegetable grower shop that uses Payconiq and has no payment terminals. The most significant advantage for them as a merchant is that the Payconiq solution costs less than cards. In their shop, they use Payconiq via the QR code; the customer inserts the amount himself and makes the payment. It’s easy, fast, and secure, and the Payconiq system makes life easier for them.

Payconiq is a more secure solution than cash

While society becomes increasingly cashless, security becomes, as a consequence, one of the essential criteria for using digital payment options, with a strong emphasis on protecting personal data. Security is one of the critical concerns at Payconiq Luxembourg. The infrastructure meets very high security and encryption standards for mobile payments, as each payment is validated with a personal PIN or the customer’s fingerprint. The Payconiq QR Codes contain no confidential data. Finally, a security limit per transaction or transfer of money and / or per day and / or week has been implemented.

The cashless society is on the move. While security concerns are legitimate, we are committed at Payconiq to offering the best infrastructure to our customers, being individuals or merchants, and providing them fast, easy and secure digital payment service.

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Contact Payconiq: Louise Cazzoli, Marketing Specialist, [email protected]+352 691 678 475https://payconiq.lu.