Canadian Retailer - The Supply Chain & Logistics Issue - 13

quity in terms of payment acceptance. But, what's
most interesting is the move toward integrated
business solutions that can link payments systems
to inventory management and other systems within the organization, allowing merchants to significantly speed up their end of day processing, as well
as gaining a better, deeper understanding of their
customers. We're also seeing contactless take off in
Canada. Our data tells us that fully half of all transactions that we see come through our system are
tap if they happen in a store. That's up from single
digits in 2013, representing significant growth of
tap transactions. The simplicity for both the retailer and consumer, in combination with the security
that neither is liable in the event of fraud, has created a strong value proposition that's further helping payments in Canada.
CR: Are retailers in Canada providing enough payment options and choice to the consumer in their
efforts to create a seamless experience, despite
where the consumer might be shopping with them?
Cameron: Canadian retailers have done a great
job in-store, where there's still strong growth. But
where we see opportunity for retailers is in investment to build out their online capabilities and then
working on the logistics of delivering and broadening online selection. This isn't to say that the investment isn't happening. The growth rate in Canadian e-commerce volume is in the double digits,
more than twice the rate of in-store. More retailers
are getting online and more shoppers are taking
advantage of it. But, there's still some opportunity
for much more growth to get to the same level of
penetration that we see in the US.
CR: What are some of the pain-points today when
it comes to payments? And, what can retailers do
to overcome them?
Cameron: Consumer expectations are rising as
fast as we're innovating. Today's consumer not
only expects to be able to shop online, but they also
expect to be able to make returns and exchanges in
the store and to have it all occur seamlessly. Some
retailers are getting it right. But others haven't
been able to link up their inventory systems in order to make that happen. Consumers also expect
that every checkout will be simple and that they'll
be known if they've been in that particular store
before. We're spending a lot of time to make sure
our payments integrate both the online and instore capabilities of our clients to ensure that this
happens for them.

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CR: Are we nearing a mobile payment tipping point
in Canada? If not, what's needed to get us there?
Cameron: There are three things that need to come
together to reach that tipping point. We need ubiquity, time for consumers to learn about the new
technology, and a strong value proposition. We
achieved ubiquity within the last year or so in that
regardless of the phone you hold, you can load card
credentials onto it. It wasn't simple enough prior to
this ubiquity. We needed some time to get there.
Consumers also need time to accept the technology. Millennials are more keen users of their phone
and trust them. As Millennials continue to get older
and increase in spending power, we're going to see
them in our stores more, using their phones to tap
and pay. Others will see the evidence firsthand that
phones are being used and realize that it's a convenient and secure way to pay, resulting in trust around
security and experience seeing it in market. And
the third driver is the opportunity to marry loyalty
to this method of payment. If there's an incentive to
use phones to pay, beyond the fact that it's easy and
convenient, it will further help acceptance. We're not
quite at the tipping point yet. We just need a little
more time for these three drivers to come together.
CR: How important is the relationship between
merchants and their payments processors? What
needs to be involved for a mutually beneficial relationship going forward?
Cameron: The relationship between merchants and
their processors needs to continue becoming stronger, especially in the area of security and protecting
cardholder data. This year, JP Morgan Chase-at
the global level-is investing $700 million on data
and cyber security. When you think of that kind
of investment and the layers of sophistication that
we put into our security, it gives our clients peace
of mind. As a merchant, as you look to provide an
exciting, super-easy and convenient experience for
your customers, it's a real shame to neglect investment in heightened security. Chase Paymentech as a
firm continues to add more value to our clients over
time, helping them secure their environments and
protect the information of their customers.
For more information about Chase Paymentech,
visit www.chasepaymentech.ca.

THE SUPPLY CHAIN & LOGISTICS ISSUE

| CANADIAN RETAILER | 13

http://www.chasepaymentech.ca http://www.retailcouncil.org/cdnretailer

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