With a modern smart terminal, you can take basic payment processing to the next level. Its robust set of features also allows you to streamline numerous business functions and gain a bird’s-eye view of your company’s customer behaviors and sales performance.
When you understand how smart terminals play this role, you can gain even more control over your company’s performance, both now and in the future.
Understanding smart terminals
Smart terminals offer a wide array of features that can elevate your overall business functions. In addition to taking traditional forms of payment, these systems can handle funds transfers from EMV chip cards, contactless Tap to Pay on iPhone payments, and digital wallets. Many can also handle multi-currency transactions.
These terminals are equipped with touchscreens that are available for both merchant and customer use. Their wifi connectivity allows for a highly flexible and mobile solution that can take payments anywhere in the store, across town, or around the world.
Features such as barcode scanners and receipt printers interface seamlessly with third-party accounting and other software. All of these elements combine to turn smart terminals into the ultimate business management hub.
Optimizing purchase analytics and insights
At the heart of your smart terminal’s reporting features is real-time data collection.Because the smart terminal is linked to your customer relationship management system, connecting purchases to specific customer profiles can take place seamlessly.
This makes it possible for you to track each customer’s shopping behavior. It also allows you to segment similar buyers into groups for enhanced marketing initiatives. You can even keep track of payment method preferences.
Further, you may glean valuable nuggets about your sales performance with the help of your smart terminal. The system gives you everything you need to track sales trends, identify peak sales seasons, and analyze product performance.
Ongoing details about inventory mean that you can regulate quantities, minimizing the chances of buying too many or too few products.
The system also helps you to prioritize security. Since transaction data is constantly being collected, the software in your smart terminal is equipped to detect potentially fraudulent activity by analyzing emerging patterns as they occur.
Although often used to improve your business, smart terminals are also champions at enhancing your customers’ experience with your store. Payment transactions are available in multiple forms and are done more efficiently, leading to faster checkouts.
Digital receipts reduce paper waste and give customers a more reliable record of the transaction. In some cases, shoppers can use self-service smart terminal kiosks to complete their entire purchase independently. This can further streamline the process and elevate their experience.
Think of your modern smart terminal as an intelligent business hub gifted with an eagle eye. In addition to streamlining payments and enhancing the buying experience for your customers, it is packed with capabilities that allow you to examine the inner workings of your company.
By harnessing this treasure trove of data, you will gain valuable awareness about numerous aspects of your company and the customers you serve.
If you haven’t already brought a smart terminal into your store’s ecosystem, talk to your payment services provider today.
North is a leading financial technology company that builds innovative, frictionless end-to-end payment solutions designed to simplify and grow businesses of all sizes. From the front door, to the back office, the developer world, and partnerships that expand the payments landscape, North offers proactive, comprehensive merchant services, in-house processing, and more.
