Contactless payments are here to stay! Three quarters of Kiwis now prefer to pay via contactless methods due to convenience, speed and hygiene at checkout.*
Why contactless payments matter
As more Kiwis adopt this payment method, choosing contactless payments isn’t just a convenience; it’s a strategic advantage for businesses. Contactless payments can significantly improve your business operations. From speedy transactions to flexibility for customers, the practical benefits make contactless payments the optimal choice for businesses in New Zealand.
Contactless payment adoption in New Zealand
Kiwi businesses have witnessed a growing preference for contactless payments among consumers, driven by factors such as convenience, speed and a heightened awareness of hygiene, driven by the pandemic. It’s no wonder, contactless transactions grew 62% since 2018, making up nearly 40% of all transactions in 2020.
Power and benefits of contactless payments for your business
Boost your sales
By giving customers convenience to pay their preferred way, contactless merchants enjoy up to double the growth rate of non-contactless merchants.^
Increase customer loyalty
Customers are more likely to come back when their preferences are accommodated. Returning customers are three times higher for merchants accepting contactless payments.*
Increase convenience & spends
Contactless payments are faster and require less effort for your customers, which means they’re more likely to spend on impulse.
Recover or share the costs
Offset the fees involved for offering contactless payments by passing on the cost of acceptance to your customers through a surcharge.
Future proof your business
Accept payments with flexibility and future proof your business to changes in technology and customer demand.
Utilise your savings
Invest back into your business with the savings from surcharging. Adding inventory, staff, social media marketing and loyalty programs are just a few of the ways you can use the savings to grow your business.
Security and trust in contactless payments
Contactless payments have multiple layers of security and encryption technology to keep them secure.
These measures ensure customers can’t make an unintentional payment, and hackers can’t use the signal or hack details of the card. Here are some reasons why customers and retailers can trust contactless:
- Contactless cards or devices don’t leave the customer’s hand - Making their data much less vulnerable to card skimming.
- Contactless transactions each have a unique code - Every contactless transaction has a one-time only, cryptographic code. This makes it easier to track payments
- Purchases over $200 require a PIN - As an extra safeguard, customers must enter their PIN for any purchase over $200.
- Contactless cards have encryption built-in- Contactless cards have built-in security features that older cards don’t.
- Contactless is designed for close proximity only - Thanks to NFC, a customer’s card or device must be right next to the terminal to work. This makes it nearly impossible for a thief to scan the card or device.
- Zero-liability fraud protection - For any unauthorised transactions both the merchant and cardholder are covered. You won’t be out of pocket.
More ways to pay with contactless
Contactless payments can be made with any NFC enabled card or device which is tapped on the EFTPOS terminal to pay.
Contactless payments are well established and adopted in New Zealand with Visa’s payWave, MasterCard PayPass and AMEX Expresspay being some of the popular card payment methods.
ApplePay, Google Pay, Android Pay and UnionPay’s QuickPass are digital technologies enabling contactless payments from your mobile phone or smartwatch. AliPay and WeChat Pay are also popular in New Zealand for mobile payments.
Give your customers more ways to pay and tap into the power of contactless payments.
Setting up contactless payments with Smartpay
Choosing to accept contactless payments is easy! Here’s a step by step guide on what to do:
- If you’ve already got a Smartpay terminal -It’s easy as! Since all our terminals are already enabled to accept contactless payments.
- Simply contact your merchant bank and let them know you want to accept contactless payments.
- The bank’s merchant services team will work with you to lock in an MSF package for fees related to accepting these payments.
- Once the contactless facility is activated by the bank, you are all set to start accepting contactless payments.
If you don’t have a Smartpay terminal, then maybe you want to drop us a line.
Smart Surcharging: Managing contactless costs
Surcharging is a common and acceptable way of passing your cost of acceptance to your customers. When done right, surcharging is simple, transparent and fair to all.
As more Kiwis skip cash for contactless payment methods, businesses are dealing with higher fees. That’s where surcharging comes in—a small fee added to customer bills for specific payments. Some of the ways businesses can benefit from surcharging include:
Save Money
Surcharging helps businesses make significant savings on merchant service fees.
Customer Choices
Businesses can offer payment flexibility without hurting the customer experience.
Low-Cost Payments
Low-cost options are still available without extra fees, allowing customers a choice, and either way, you still get the sale.
Grow Business and Loyalty
Reinvesting surcharge savings can help businesses grow and stay competitive.
Businesses using surcharging smartly can control rising costs linked to digital payments while staying customer-friendly. We can help set up this feature on your EFTPOS machine at no additional cost, just give us a call.
Why choose Smartpay for contactless solutions?
Accepting contactless payments not only makes you more flexible to customer payments but also aligns your business with current and future market trends. Make the smart choice for your business—choose Smartpay for a future-proof approach to payments.
Our expertise and industry recognition
20 years of payment experience
Benefit from our decades of experience with in-house technology and support, ensuring you're backed by experts.
Cutting edge technology
Experience more than just conventional payments—stay ahead with top-tier security and EFTPOS features, all developed in-house.
Free surcharging
We activate surcharging on your terminal at no charge. Allowing you to minimise the cost of acceptance of contactless payments
Tailored payment solutions
Your business is unique, and so are our solutions. Whether in-store or on the go, we've got the perfect fit for you.
24/7 reliable support
Reliability is paramount in payments. We’e here to lend a hand if you ever need help with your EFTPOS solution.
Locally owned and operated
We take pride in supporting 35,000+ businesses across New Zealand and Australia with tailored solutions.
Testimonials: Success stories from our partners
"Everyone loves contactless and wants to pay by tapping their card. We needed to provide this option, but the monthly bank fees were hundreds of dollars! Setting up a surcharge with Smartpay was easy. I could do it all on the phone. It has made such a big difference. We’re thrilled to see the reduction in bank fees and will be re-investing the savings"
Explore Smartpay's range of contactless EFTPOS solutions
Mobile EFTPOS
Take payments on the go with a sleek and versatile mobile EFTPOS terminal
Countertop EFTPOS
Your stylish and reliable companion for taking payments in-store
Short term rentals
Need EFTPOS for a limited time? Check out our flexible short term rental plans
Other EFTPOS resources and tools
Check out some of our useful in-depth resources on contactless payments:
Frequently Asked Questions
In general, any business could benefit from the speed and flexibility of contactless payments. Retail stores, including supermarkets, find it enhances customer service. Fast paced sale businesses like event booths, pop-up shops, food services like fast-food, coffee shops, bars and clubs, can all benefit from the efficiency of contactless transactions. Additionally, transport services, such as buses, can leverage contactless for quicker and smoother payments, ensuring timely schedules.
Adopting contactless payments for your small business can enhance customer experience by providing a faster and more convenient payment option. It streamlines transactions, reduces wait times, and attracts customers seeking modern, efficient payment methods, ultimately boosting overall customer experience.
You can do this by displaying signage at your business to indicate you accept contactless payments. You can also encourage usage through special promotions for contactless transactions. Additionally, train staff to inform and assist customers in adopting this convenient payment method. If you are adding a surcharge, please also display this with signage at checkout.
There are processing fees associated with accepting contactless payments that are defined by the MSF package you negotiate with your bank. Smartpay offers a free surcharging option that adds a small surcharge to your customer’s payment transaction to help you offset the cost of acceptance.
Credit card surcharging is applicable on payments made on Visa, Mastercard, UnionPay AMEX, Diner and JCB cards. If the customer inserts/swipes their credit card and chooses the “credit” option, the programmed surcharge will apply.
Contactless surcharging is applicable on payments with any NFC enabled card or device. The card is not inserted or swiped in the terminal and, if the transaction is below $200 a PIN is not required for authorisation of the payment. These include all cards and devices with payWave (Visa), Tap & Go (Mastercard), Apple Pay and Google Pay.
Contactless payments made easy
For Smartpay Customers – Activate contactless payments with your merchant bank and you’re good to go!
New to Smartpay? – Explore EFTPOS solutions tailored to your business. Call our sales team or fill out the online form, and a specialist will contact you within the next business hour.