World Wide Web Day is when the World Wide Web started 35 years ago.

In just 35 years, the internet has revolutionised retail, driving business digital transformation at an unprecedented pace. It has reshaped how businesses operate in an increasingly digital world.

The Evolution of POS Software

Its been remarkable. The days of cumbersome cash registers and tedious manual entry are behind us. The internet's influential role has reshaped the operations and customer experience for local businesses.

• Local shops now need an online presence for small retailers
• Access to e-commerce platforms
• Social media to improve customer engagement
• The fax and much of the mail have practically gone
• Digital receipts

Digital Payment Solutions

Today, most payments, such as EFTPOS and credit cards, are made online. We at POS Solutions were the first software company to introduce this to Australia. https://www.possolutions.com.au/pages/tyro-payments.

Retail in the Internet Era

E-commerce has created new revenue streams and broadened customer access for small businesses. The COVID-19 crisis accelerated this trend.

Today embracing the power of data, including CRM and analytics, has emerged as a game-changing strategy for local retailers.

Customer relationship management (CRM) tools have become indispensable for small retailers. These systems allow businesses to:

• Track customer preferences and purchase history
• Personalise marketing efforts
• Improve customer service

The main reason this works today is that, with email and internet newsletters, businesses can communicate effectively for free with their customers. Before the internet, this was very expensive and only available to large companies.

Local Business Marketing Online: A Game-Changer

Local business marketing online has revolutionised how local retailers attract and retain customers. Strategies like local SEO, social media marketing, and targeted online advertising need to be looked at  to compete effectively.

Conclusion: Embracing the Digital Future

The internet has undoubtedly transformed retail.

There is no going back. 

"I'm sorry, but we no longer offer cheque facilities on this account." Imagine the surprise when the Commonwealth Bank of Australia told a long-time client of mine this. I was stunned, yet it's a fact throughout Australia today. Cheque usage in Australia has fallen so much. In the 1980s, cheques were 85% of all non-cash transactions. Today, they make up 0.01% of total payments. 

In 2023, Australians wrote less than one cheque per person a year. 

The Generational Divide

It's not just the numbers changing; it's the people too. Here's a quick breakdown that might surprise you:

It's not good for the cheque's future.

Cheques in Australia 2030: To Accept or Not to Accept?

Many retail Australian businesses no longer accept personal checks.

As a business owner, you might be torn. On the one hand, it's hard to refuse a payment if the customer is willing to pay, but it comes with risks. Let's break it down:

Pros of Accepting Cheques:

• Cater to older customers
• Rural areas with bad internet
• Avoid some processing fees, which is a huge problem as many of my clients sell low-margin items like lotto products.

Cons of Accepting Cheques:

• Risk of bounced cheques
• Time-consuming to process
• Time to get the payment into your account
• Potential for fraud (counterfeit, lost or altered cheques)

I had a customer whose chequebook was stolen, and it took a while to sort it out. If you have an old, unused chequebook, I suggest you destroy it.

Conclusion

The cheque's last stand is upon us, they are scheduled to be phased out in 2030. This doesn't spell doom for retailers as currently its use is limited.

The fact is that your next customer will be with a smartphone in hand, so make sure you can accept this payment method.

Picture this: A pensioner goes shopping; in her wallet are a few notes ready to use for shopping. Soon, most vendors will wave her towards card readers instead. "Just tap and go." They say, "It's faster!" Could this be our future?

Don't Panic, Cash Isn't Disappearing Overnight

According to some estimates, by 2030, Australia will be a cashless society. While this shift won't happen overnight, it will significantly affect businesses like yours.

Why the Cashless Craze for retailers?

• Faster: Tap-and-go payments are quick and easy. Our POS System can do such transactions faster than cash, I know, as we have measured it.
• Cost: Retailers save on handling, counting, and securing physical cash.
• Security: For retailers, handling electronic money is much more secure and more challenging to steal—lower risks of counterfeiting and internal theft for retailers when using electronic payments.
• Fewer banks and ATMs: Cash can be a problem as we have fewer banks and ATMs.

Hold On, Not So Fast – Retailers Are Concerned

Recent studies paint a complex picture.

• Few cashless support: A whopping 71% of Australians are worried about going cashless, and many retailers are among that 71%.
• More payment types: Few retailers want to lose customers, so if a customer wants to pay in cash, most retailers will accept it.
• Hidden Fees: Every fee counts, and a cashless society costs retailers.

The Real Risks of Going Cashless

It's not just nostalgia. Here's why all business owners should care:

• Leaving Folks Behind: The elderly, those with disabilities, undocumented workers, and even domestic abuse victims may rely heavily on cash. Going cashless can exclude them.
• Your Data, Their Data: Card companies and banks see every transaction, raising privacy concerns. Large companies now buy this information from banks, providing incredible information on what people buy from their cashless purchases.  
• Outages Happen, and Australia's electronic network is not ready: When the power or network goes down, currently, only cash keeps things moving.

So, What's a Business to do?

First, check what percentage of your sales are cashless versus cash via your POS reporting. The "End of Day" report will show a "Sales Payment Breakup" - run this for the past year to understand your current cash/cashless mix.

With this data in hand, you can plan appropriately:

Go to the main menu and select "End of day."

Click where it has a green arrow.

The part of the report you are looking for is the Sales Payment Breakup below.

Pick an appropriate period, generally the last year. Run it a few times with slightly different dates, as you may get a better value with various dates. 

This will supply you with the information you need.

Conclusion

1. Keep SOME Cash Handy: It's an emergency lifeline and a way to serve everyone.
2. Speak Up! Let your local council and politicians know a fully cashless Australia has drawbacks.

Australia's transition away from cash is complex. With proper planning and an inclusive "fair go" approach, small businesses can thrive by straddling both cashless and cash payments during this shift.

What they are doing now more are paying by debit card and the new alternative methods. Of the alternative methods, the fastest growing is Alipay. Although I have no current figures, about a year ago in 2018 10,000 merchants around Australia were offering Alipay as a payment method. 

What has been happening is that consumers in Australia have been rapidly changing from cash to other forms of payments. 

Look at the alternative payment figures, Alipay it is the fastest growing segment in this category. What Alipay is, is the largest online payment platform in China. It has been snowballing in China for years and now is the preferred payment method for Chinese students and tourist in Australia.

Itwire studies have shown that  99% of Chinese tourists in Australia have Alipay.  In 2018, Alipay transaction volume in Australia increased by 110% and using Alipay the amount spent per person was up by 40% and its a wide range of products that they buy here.

The Alipay fees are comparable to many VISA and Mastercard transactions now, and there is no cost to switch on so for our clients, I cannot see it as anything else but a no-brainer to try it out.

So we are pleased that we are offering a direct integration of Alipay. It will work through Tyro EFTPOS which as Tyro has no fees or contracts, so it is easy for any of our clients to add this payment type if they want it. If you are interested, let me know.

Alipay is the preferred payment method for Chinese people visiting Australia. About 1.2 million Chinese tourists come to Australia each year and they spend an average of $8,000 per visit making them in dollar terms our number one tourist trade. Also, there are many Chinese nationals and students living in Australia that would like to use it,  so giving many of our clients' a good reason to offer this preferred Chinese method of payment. 

So we are pleased that sometime about February be offering a direct integration of Alipay. It will work through Tyro EFTPOS which as Tyro has no fees or contracts so it is easy for any of our clients to add this payment type if they want it. If you are interested let me know.

In an effort to reduce banking costs, some people have asked us instead of Zippay can they offer a direct bank account system as cash is slowly declining.

The short answer is *YES*, maybe and no.

The first point is you do not want to create what we call any type of friction if someone wants to pay with a particular payment method then I suggest you give them that option, particularly as it is an easy and cheap option plus it does offer what every business needs to provide a fee-free way to pay.

The problem is that today people want an immediate solution, that is the problem with laybys nowdays too which is on a steep decline. 

A direct bank deposit takes time, while the other methods like PayPal, Credit cards, Afterpay or ZipPay are instant.

A year ago here I spoke of the growing market of the "Buy now, pay later" market of which the two big players are Afterpay and Zip.  Well a year later, it is clear that the growth of these payment methods has increased.

Afterpay has replaced in google trend Paypal.

Afterpay tripled last year, while zip doubled which is pretty impressive. Now about 10% of Australia has used their services. Part of the appeal is that many that cannot get a credit card can get these cards.

Those of my clients that are using it report that a zip customer is a good customer, on an average they spend about $150 a transaction.

If you want to know more let me know.

PosBrowser has launched a new facility for you and your clients. We now offer a Zip Pay payment type directly built into the PosBrowser register.  This week we were joined by Andreas Collier from Zip pay to discuss and demonstrate how easy it is to setup and use as well as answering a bunch of question you may be interested in hearing. 
Watch the video and see what you think. 
Also as a special offer to PosBrowser user, Andreas will personally handle the process of getting your ZIP PAY account activated and the details you will need for integrating ZIP with PosBrowser.   Just contact him via email [email protected] 

If you find this video helpful or you have any question please reply in the comments. Also check out our blog often to see what the next webinar is going to cover in our weekly sessions or make a suggestion for a topic you'd like to hear more about. 

A lot of my clients do a lot of business taking EFTPOS payments over the phone (MOTO). It is a business risk, that most retailers know as the problem here is that in the event of a dispute it is the retailers that has to prove the cardholder approved the transaction.

The problem can be that if the shop is registered to do such MOTO payments, now let us say a customer comes in and buys some goods. They are given the terminal as above to process the EFTPOS and most salespeople purposely do not look at the processing of the transaction to reassure the customer that they are not looking at their security codes. What a fraudster can do then is cancel the transaction and while no-one is looking activate on some terminals the MOTO function. Then process the transaction. This will allow stolen EFTPOS cards to be used over the security limit. A short time later the retailer gets a query from the bank and almost certainly a reversal of the payment.

What I recommend is that you have cameras recording all EFTPOS transactions and if possible on the terminal that customers have access, disconnect the MOTO function.