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I’ve never really been a germaphobe, but I’ve known a few. One coworker won’t take a treat from an office tray of goodies unless a utensil is available. Others plan exits from public bathrooms by using paper towels to turn off the water and then open the door, hoping for a trash can nearby to place the towel.
Nowadays, these examples don’t sound so crazy or overblown. Going forward, we will give pause before using any public facility. If you are still hesitant to touch doorknobs, steering wheels, subway seats, and shopping carts, then what will your retail franchise do about cash and card payments?
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It's a widely known fact: Cash is filthy and a host to all kinds of dangerous elements. From cocaine to fecal matter, free-flowing cash moves from person to person carrying some of the world’s most disgusting stuff along with it. During the coronavirus pandemic, many places have resolved to take cash only as a way to avoid so many dirty hands touching credit screens. However, cash may not remain the king of payments in a post-CV world.
Mobile Wallet Payments Will Grow
We have all experienced more technological changes in the last several weeks. From students to executives, more of us are online trying to sort out a new way of doing things.
Mobile pay points are not getting as much use since stores and restaurants closed. But franchisees should remember two things right now. First, some customers will not want to handle cash; instead, they will expect businesses to provide other options. Secondly, as a nation, we’ve all become heavier users of technology. We’ve rapidly incorporated video conferencing and online happy hours into our technological repertoire. We will simply expect to see more of it when the economy reopens, but we will also want to see options that limit the transfer of viruses and other unseemly matter.
In the pre-CV world, mobile payments were more often regularly adopted by the Gen Y and Gen Z, but universally not trusted by a large portion of every age group. eMarketer’s research shows the discrepancy between generations’ use of mobile payments and their views.
Likewise, the FRB of San Francisco documents cash use mostly for small-ticket items. Greater numbers of us deposit checks remotely with a quick photo and buy our lattes with our mobile phone. It seems to me that mobile wallets will feel more comfortable because every age group will have spent more time learning ways to facilitate the electronic side of business and data.
As we start and build our franchises in the post-CV world, cash will no longer hold the same, dirty spot in our commercial transactions. Because we have become more sensitive to our hygiene practices, we will prefer payments with our mobile phones. Yes, they are a bit dirty, too, but no one else’s virus or fecal matter will reach them, thankfully (and they are much easier to clean than paper bills).
The shift to mobile payments will be gradual but clear in our new world of commerce, but I look forward to having that happy hour in person, even if I don’t use cash to toast your healthy smile. Oh, and I might avoid putting my hands in the bowl of free bar snacks.
Anne Daniells is a co-owner of Enterprising Solutions, a professional services firm specializing in corporate communication and financial improvement for businesses where she shares decades of corporate and entrepreneurial experience—including franchise ownership—in her writings on business culture. She has authored hundreds of articles for publications including AllBusiness.com, TweakYourBiz.com, and MSN.com. Reach out via her website for more on where corporate culture, communication, and human architecture collide.