Fiserv Inc. –a leading service provider of global financial and payment technology solutions, is allowing businesses of all scales and sizes across multiple industry verticals to offer support for in-demand payment options digitally. Through its new range of services, the solution provider aims at expanding the respective touch-free payment capabilities through a new relationship with Venmo and PayPal –leading digital payment giants in the world.

Merchants that have been leveraging the Carat Omnichannel or Clover POS or Point of Sale commerce ecosystem by Fiserv will be now accepting in-store payments through Venmo and PayPal. The report was released through a press release. The report has come after one year after PayPal went forward with re-entering the in-person space of ensuring payments through the addition of QR code capabilities of payments to its app. This allowed its merchants and consumers to scan as well as generate QR codes for completing the transactions.

Fiserv Collaborating with PayPal and Venmo

The move has been built around the trend of PayPal for partnering with the existing payment solution providers for expanding its in-store acceptance network instantly. As PayPal & Venmo team up with Fiserv, it offers them the opportunity to compete for increased in-store payments. The ecosystem of Clover POS has facilitated over 2 billion consumer-centric interactions. At the same time, the partnership has also accelerated around $135 billion in the volume of gross payments in the year 2020. 

To top it all, PayPal has already ensured partnerships with advanced payments technology company InComm. This allows the clients including CVS to accept in-store forms of Venmo and PayPal. It also enabled the concept of Zettle. It was capable of acquiring around $2.2 billion in the year 2018. Zettle has also started accepting the QR codes. Moreover, PayPal is working towards ensuring new partnerships such that it is capable of reaching out to more profitable in-store payment industries. The payment industry is estimated to be around $5.621 trillion in the year 2021. This is as per the reports of eMarketer. 

In-store Push by PayPal

The in-store push by PayPal might be well-timed as it has been launched on the grounds of stronger performance in the year 2020 and modified payment habits of the consumers.

• The user base of PayPal has skyrocketed in the previous year. Currently, it has the opportunity to convert the online consumers as well as merchants to the users of QR code payments. PayPal accounted for around 377 million users by the time of 2020. This included around 29 million merchant accounts –around 28 percent over from 2019. 

The growth can be regarded as a part of its e-commerce surging results in 2020. This is because consumers started avoiding the use of physical stores. At the same time, the merchants turned their attention to digital channels for driving maximum sales. In the current scenario, PayPal is capable of pushing the respective consumers to make use of the revolutionary QR code technology. At the same time, it continues pushing the respective merchants to accept the QR code payment technology. This helps PayPal in boosting the in-store business as customers continue returning to the concept of in-store purchasing.

• The concept of contactless payment solutions like the utilization of QR codes has become highly popular during the global pandemic. This has potentially allowed the consumers to make use of the in-store payment options offered by PayPal. Most consumers across the world have turned to the concept of using contactless payments for limiting interactions with common & shared surfaces and other individuals during the pandemic.

The given behavior shift of modern consumers is here to stay for longer. It is estimated that around 65 percent of consumers revealed that once they have been vaccinated for the disease, they would continue using the concept of contactless payments even more. This was reported by a Visa survey. This implies that there should be an ongoing appetite for the QR code-enabled payments by PayPal as the company continues building its overall acceptance base. This helps in potentially bringing into effect the initial level of success.

The Changing Behavior of Modern Consumers

The shopping preferences of consumers are shifting towards the mechanism of touch-free or contactless interactions. As such, it is crucial for modern-day businesses to connect both physical and digital commerce. As merchants would allow consumers to ensure payments digitally with the help of QR codes and other famous digital wallets like Venmo & PayPal, businesses will be offering improved convenience. It also allows consumers to enjoy a myriad of choices with respect to in-person shopping, entertainment experiences, and dining options.

Consumers have become highly comfortable with utilizing a wide range of payment options in their day-to-day lives. An increasing number of consumers wish to continue using the preferred method of ensuring purchases at the respective POS or Point of Sale. The global pandemic has also accelerated awareness while driving a demand for contactless payment options.

While most merchants are willing to fulfill the increasing demands of the consumers, the support for multiple payment systems can turn out to be a complex proposition –especially due to the ongoing changes in the space of modern payments. Ensuring connections between leaders of the industry can help in streamlining the delivery of immense capabilities to the respective merchants with the help of a single platform that can be easily managed. 

Contactless or touch-free payment options will be playing a major role as businesses and people get back to the all-new normal –including the return of entertainment and sports venues. Fiserv claims that by providing QR code payment options through the new Clover capabilities, it aims at prioritizing its consumers with convenient and innovative commerce-based offerings.