If there is one thing about the payments networks that is becoming increasingly evident as a key obstacle it is the merchants. This from Aneace is just another example of an underlying issue that Banks and payment networks choose to ignore.

US payments consultant First Annapolis reveals that merchant acquirers are expressing deep doubt over the benefits of contactless. The following comments were taken from the April issue of the firm’s Navigator report

We really need an open standard POS terminal that will work for all and any payment system. The merchants are right. Why should they invest in multiple systems to satisfy individual payment network strategies. In addition why should their employees have to deal with up to 6 terminals at the check-out.

This is one area that has received no attention, as the banks and credit card companies focus on driving their benefits. If we stopped for a moment, and considered one POS terminal with a contactless, chip, mag stripe capability based on a standard, this would reduce the merchant terminals to one.

Then the payment networks and banks can consider all the options to their hearts content, and the merchant (and end customer making the purchase) would be ambivalent. This would also make it simpler for the payment networks and banks, because key elements of the discussion would be eliminated making the decisions more focussed.

Tags: merchants

Tags: card_acquirers