In shops and restaurants, people pay more and more with mobile phones, watches, or traditional payment cards. Few people regularly take cash out of their wallets anymore, and rarely ever. But what about the often discussed fees for payment terminals? How does the possibility of cashless payment affect the sales of sellers? And what news awaits us in this area? Jitka Palatová, CEO of KB SmartPay, revealed this in the next episode of the Byznys kafe program.
Jitka Palatová, CEO of KB SmartPay, was a guest of the Byznys kafe video podcast.
| Video: Diary/Jakub Vítek
According to KB SmartPay’s analysis, over two billion payment transactions take place in the Czech Republic annually. The average amount of the payment is decreasing year by year and now it is about 550 crowns. The decrease in the average amount is due to the fact that people pay cashless more and more often, even for smaller purchases and services. You can easily pay for a coffee or the toilets with your card or mobile phone.
“We’re seeing a steady increase in places that accept cards. If it is not possible to pay by card in a certain place, more than half of the people will leave – they will not buy the selected item or purchase the offered service. Forty percent of people only start looking for an ATM in the neighborhood when it’s really worth it – then they go back to the store that only takes cash,” says Jitka Palatová, CEO of KB SmartPay, which is one of the largest providers of payment terminals in the Czech Republic.
By card vs. cash: How about minimum amount, tip, payment fees
From time to time, shops and restaurants appear in the media or on social networks that refuse payment terminals on the grounds that for transactions have to pay too high fees. According to Palatová, the merchant pays the amount, which is from half to two percent. But on average it’s only about one percent. On the other hand, stores that have introduced cashless terminals, according to KB SmartPay’s analysis, have higher sales than when they only accepted cash.
“We monitor the sales increases at these sellers, we did research on this, and they range from five to thirty percent. It depends on what kind of business and service it is. The advantage is also greater security of payments thanks to the limitation of working with cash. However, the most that traders hear when introducing terminals is that their sales will increase,” points out Jitka Palatová.
Recently, new places where it is also common to pay cashless by mobile phone or card are unattended kiosks, ticket machines, car washes or electric car chargers, where you do not have to wait for service. Small merchants or vendors at farmers’ markets, for whom a stand-alone terminal may be expensive, are increasingly using their mobile phone for customer payments.
“This service has been on the market for about two years and, in simple terms, it’s about turning any Android mobile phone into a payment terminal. Just download the app. It’s an ideal solution for the smallest sellers,” explains the director of KB SmartPay in the Byznys kafe program.
We do not take cards, only cash. Reason? We have high fees, the traders explain
He then describes how the Czech Republic pays by card project, which is currently running with support, works Ministry of Industry and Trade, MasterCard and Komerční banka. “As part of this event, we provide a classic terminal, a mobile terminal or a payment gateway for testing for free for one year. There is only a turnover limit of 50,000 crowns per month. We have already provided 12,000 terminals in this way since 2020, and more than two-thirds of users keep them even after that year of testing,” adds Jitka Palatová.
So what is the future of cashless payments? For example, payment terminals will be moved directly to tables in restaurants, so you just choose, pay and the staff will bring you your order. In the same way, the option of paying directly at the stands at gas stations will be more frequent, so that drivers will not have to go inside to the cash register. And more should be possible to pay cashless also within the state administration for various fees.
Who are charged for card payments? How are we doing with cashless payments compared to the rest of Europe? How to ensure that these transactions are safe for the customer? Jitka Palatová, CEO of KB SmartPay, explained this and other points of interest in the Byznys kafe program.
Watch the entire video interview moderated by Jan Klička, editor-in-chief of Deník’s central editorial office.
Source: Diary/Jakub Vítek
