5 Consumer Trends Shaping Valentine’s Day

Meet your newest recruit: a sleek, reliable multitasker that takes payments, processes sales, cuts costs, grows tips, splits bills, and boosts your brand. Once upon a time,  EFTPOS terminals did one thing: accept card payments. In 2024, they have become the beating heart of a business’s finances, incorporating myriad tools and features to help merchants not only deal with the increasing volume of card payments, but also make informed business decisions, deliver premium and branded customer service, and get you paid faster. Zeller Terminal is one such device that’s leading the way in payment technology in Australia. Integrated into Zeller’s financial ecosystem, which offers a  point-of-sale system ,  transaction account  and  savings account ,  debit cards  and  corporate cards , a  contact directory  and  mobile app , Zeller EFTPOS Terminal is a key component of an all-in-one system that gives businesses real-time visibility of their cash position, important sales insights, and near-instant access to their funds. So much more than an EFTPOS machine, Zeller Terminal is a key growth driver for your business, and below, we explain twelve reasons why. Top 12 benefits of Zeller Terminal 1. It saves your business money. Zeller Terminal is yours to own outright for the low cost of $99, or $199 if you choose Zeller Terminal 2, which comes with a built-in point-of-sale system. There are no monthly rental fees, no lock-in contracts, and no hidden costs. Once you start taking payments, you will only ever incur a 1.4% transaction fee for all card types – including AMEX – or 1.7% for over-the-phone transactions. Plus, with Zeller Terminal’s flexible surcharging capability, you can choose to pass on all or part of your merchant fee to the customer. Unlike many merchant services providers which lock you into surcharging for an added fee, Zeller’s zero-cost EFTPOS  option can be turned on, off, or customised at the press of a button. 2. It accepts every payment method. Zeller Terminal gives your customers the option to pay however is most convenient for them. To make payment, a customer can: tap their smartphone, watch, or other  NFC-enabled device  to the terminal tap their contactless debit and credit cards to the terminal insert a chip card into Zeller Terminal and, if needed, securely enter their PIN swipe their card and enter their PIN, or sign directly on the screen (available on Zeller Terminal 1 only) call you and read their card details over the phone 3. It simplifies checkout with a free, built-in point-of-sale system. Traditional point-of-sale software can be costly to growing businesses, which is why Zeller Terminal 2 incorporates a simple POS solution right into the hardware, for free:  Zeller POS Lite . Designed for micro, small, and mobile businesses, this easy-to-use POS solution records sales and delivers a fast and secure customer checkout experience. With Zeller POS Lite, you can: Manage a library of items directly on the terminal or via Zeller Dashboard or App Customise your product offering with modifiers and variants Design your home screen grid to allow quick access to frequently used items Generate itemised receipts which customers can receive via email, SMS, or QR code View detailed sales reports to understand what you are selling and when Create and manage discounts Get set up instantly – Zeller POS Lite comes automatically installed on Zeller Terminal 2 4. It boosts your brand with customisable receipts and screensavers. Zeller ensures your brand is central to the payment process by allowing you to customise both your receipts and your machine’s screensaver. Whether they’re printed or sent digitally as an email or SMS, Zeller receipts can incorporate a custom image at the top of the receipt, as well as business details, social media handles, a brief message or returns policy. Similarly, Zeller Terminal’s large digital screen can be customised with an image of your choice, allowing you to engage your customers with your brand while you scan their items or pull up their order on your point-of-sale. Much more than a simple payment device, Zeller Terminal is an innovative marketing tool that can be leveraged to instil your brand messaging. Customise your Terminal screensaver and your receipt to align with your brand. 5. It splits payments. Gone are the days of making your customers get out their phone calculator to figure out who owes what after a group meal. Zeller Terminal’s  Split Payments  functionality gives customers the option of splitting by custom value or by number of people. Not only is this more convenient for your patrons, but it speeds up the payment process, freeing up the EFTPOS terminal for it to be used by other staff. Additionally, by giving each individual customer the option to pay their share, it gives them all the opportunity to provide a tip. Everyone tips differently, so by giving more power to each customer, it is not only a more democratic process, it's likely to result in cumulatively greater tips for your business. 6. It settles the bill, tableside. Zeller Terminal’s  Pay at Table  feature is revolutionising the dining experience. Where before waitstaff would have to jostle between the diner’s table and the point-of-sale machine to settle a bill, Zeller Terminal now allows you to see total outstanding bills, take payments and close tables — all on one device. Rather than the customer paying at the counter or finalising the bill in the traditional, time-consuming manner, waitstaff can deliver the bill and the mobile payment device, all at the same time. The status of a table is updated in real time and synced across all machines, reducing human error and optimising the whole operation. 7. It makes processing refunds easy. Zeller Terminal supports both complete and partial refunds – and you, as a business owner, have the ability to restrict who can provide a customer with a refund. It’s an added level of protection for your business. Refunding a payment doesn’t cost your business anything; Zeller doesn’t charge any additional fees for refunding a customer. 7. It gives you real-time insights. Track key metrics from your Zeller Terminal in your own Zeller Dashboard or on  Zeller App . By providing powerful real-time data and a searchable transaction history, Zeller equips you with the tools you need to better manage cash flow, identify cost-saving opportunities and sales patterns. With most payment services providers, daily transaction information is unavailable until totals are tallied up at close of business — and important business information can only be found in a monthly merchant services statement. Having the ability to see how your business is performing at a glance enables you to quickly understand your short-term cash flow, progress sales targets to meet (and outperform) business objectives, and ultimately make smarter business decisions. 9. It gets you paid faster with same-day settlements. When you settle your funds into a Zeller Transaction Account, your day’s takings from Zeller Terminal will be deposited into your account the very same night, 365 days a year. If you choose to settle your funds into a third-party bank account, you will receive them the next business day. Speeding up the settlement process means you have access to your funds faster, helping to keep your cash flow healthy, and helping to avoid delays to wage payments or supply orders. 10. It can be controlled remotely. If your business operates across multiple locations, you need an easy way to manage your EFTPOS payment terminals. Every one of your Zeller Terminals can be controlled from your Zeller account, ensuring consistency across your entire operation. Update your staff permissions, enable and disable surcharging, update the information on your receipts, and more from one easy, online location. 11. It increases your tips. Zeller Terminal makes it easy for customers to leave a tip. This is particularly useful for hospitality businesses — you don’t have to enable the feature, but the functionality is there. You can configure your Zeller Terminal to provide a range of tipping options, either prompting a customer to leave a tip calculated on a percentage of their purchase or allowing them to enter a custom amount. This is a proven tactic, designed to grow tips for your business. 12. It reduces paper with digital and QR code receipts. A recent study* revealed that Australia produces 10.6 billion paper receipts annually, but because of their chemical coating, none of them can be recycled. With consumers and businesses becoming increasingly aware of their environmental footprint, many are choosing digital receipts as a convenient and sustainable alternative. Zeller Terminal embraces this step forward by offering customers the choice to have their receipts sent via email or SMS (available on both terminal models), or they can quickly scan a QR code which appears on-screen after the payment has been processed and download their receipt directly to their smartphone (Zeller Terminal 2 only). *‘Life Journey of an Average Receipt’ report, commissioned by Slyp, undertaken by the University of Technology Sydney (UTS). Plus protection for your business. Zeller uses end-to-end encryption and industry best practices to protect transactions from the time they are taken at the terminal to the time your money is received. Whether you choose to use an open or secured Wi-Fi connection or a mobile broadband-based connection, all the information Zeller processes is encrypted to our servers. Our team adheres to industry best practices in cybersecurity and threat management, constantly monitoring transactions for suspicious activity and blocking fraudulent transactions. When payment disputes occur, our team of experts deals with the bank for you, helping you avoid costly chargebacks. We’re always looking ahead. Our team of developers are hard at work, continuously building new functionality to give your business an edge. That's why, when you sign up for Zeller, there are no lock-in contracts or commitments. We know you’ll love our solution enough to never want to leave. Learn more about how  Zeller Terminal  can help your business grow by accepting every card payment, quickly and securely, for one low rate. By sharing your details with us, we may contact you from time to time. We promise we won’t bug you — and you can unsubscribe from communications at any time.

Use of alternative payment methods is skyrocketing. In the digital world, change is rapid. Payment options and alternatives are frequently evolving — as are your customers’ expectations. People expect to be able to transact with the businesses they buy from, quickly and conveniently, no matter which payment method they choose. Some may even go as far as to only transact with those businesses that accept a particular method of payment. As consumer preferences continue to evolve, it’s going to become increasingly difficult and time-consuming for businesses to play catch-up. Those that keep themselves informed of these shifts in expectations stand the best chance of winning and retaining customers in the competitive small business world. Welcome to Payments 4. X A new age is dawning within the payments industry. This era, dubbed “Payments 4. X”, will see a focus on personalised customer experience, industry consolidation and new tech industry players — offering business owners and their paying customers alike “ smarter experiences and smarter interactions ”. But what sparked the change? Payments 4. X has been ushered in by an unprecedented push for contactless payment options, faster transaction settlements, and foolproof security. The most straightforward explanation of the shift comes from Capgemini's 2021 Global Payments Report , which provides an in-depth look at how payments have changed over the last year, as well as the various ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic has shaken the industry up and created new opportunities for merchants to improve the way they run their business. Access the entire global report online , or keep reading for the short version: a distillation of 5 payment trends that will likely impact small business owners in Australia as we enter the age of Payments 4. X. 1. Connected systems The success of any business hinges on its people, processes, and systems. As new tools and apps continue to be developed, the success of a business will increasingly depend on its tech stack. The ecosystem of tools you piece together will impact everything from how you communicate with your customers, to the ease of running promotions, to the time it takes to report on business performance. Integrating your EFTPOS terminal with your point-of-sale system, for example, will enable you to select a customer’s item on-screen and have the transaction amount immediately appear on your terminal — ready for the customer to tap, dip, or swipe to pay. An interconnected system will also make real-time data accessible, enabling you to make quick decisions for the betterment of your business. For your customers, connected systems mean a better experience; more personalised, more efficient, more fulfilling. As tech companies continue to develop products built on the software-as-a-service model, businesses of all shapes and sizes will be able to create their own modular value chain of tools. This plug-and-play tech will enable those merchants who spend time comparing and selecting tools that work well together to save time, build better customer relationships, and grow profits. Perhaps most importantly, spending the time to find the right systems will enable you to run your business in your own unique way. 2. A new type of consumer credit Buy Now, Pay Later schemes (BNPL, for short) are exactly what they sound like. A customer can buy a product now, for a small amount of money, and pay the balance later — no need to wait for payday. In removing these hurdles for customers, they’re more likely to spend. An American study found that businesses that offered their customers to option to buy now, pay later experienced a 20 to 30% uplift in conversion rates. 80% of those that began offering BNPL saw an increase in the amount customers spend in-store. Unsurprisingly, BNPL has exploded in popularity — especially amongst younger generations, where trends come and go quickly. The way they’re using the platforms demonstrates a clear preference to debit over credit; according to Afterpay, 94% of its Gen Z users are opting to buy now, pay later using their own money rather than link their account to a credit card. This is the same generation that commonly reaches for their phone or extends their wrist when it comes time to pay. Anyone with a bank account that meets a set of standard eligibility criteria can sign up for a BNPL scheme to buy whatever they want at stores that accept the payment method. Essentially, that means anyone over the age of 18, with a bank account, who passes a credit risk check can use BNPL. If your business doesn’t already accept BNPL as a method of payment, consider whether 2022 is the year to start. It could be a way to reach a new subset of customers whose spending power is increasing with time, and grow your profits. 3. No more cash The pandemic has hastened the pace of cash’s decline even faster than predicted. In 2020, cash was used for just 20.5% of transactions at a point of sale across the globe. That’s a 32.1% reduction in cash use since 2019. Companies like FIS, for example, previously speculated we would reach these levels in 2023; the pace of decline is three years ahead of schedule. In Australia, we are even further ahead of the pack; cash has been approaching legacy status as a payment method for years. Cash is used for less than 20% of point-of-sale transactions in the Asia-Pacific region, and it’s expected that by 2024 it will account for less than 10% of those transactions. So, how are consumers paying? With their new limb: the mobile phone. Nearly 45% of consumers say they frequently used their mobile wallet to pay for things in 2021 — meaning almost half of consumers reached for the mobile wallet upwards of 20 times. A year prior, just 23% of consumers did the same. This is good news for businesses; the less frequently your customers pay with cash, the less time you’ll spend counting your cash drawer, visiting the bank, and waiting to be able to put those funds to work. Instead, simply accept payment through Zeller Terminal and the funds will be available in your Zeller Transaction Account the very next day. Spend them using your Zeller Mastercard . 4. Innovative forms of payment There’s no question that COVID has accelerated the adoption of digital wallets while speeding up the decline of cash. However, consumer payment preferences are growing increasingly diverse. With Payments 4. X ushering in an accelerated transformation timeline, every business owner needs to take stock. How will your customers expect to be able to pay in 12 months’ time? Credit card use is expected to flatline. There’s an abundance of payment methods available, and more to come. What was once considered an ‘alternative payment method’ — such as a digital wallet attached to a mobile phone or smart ring — is now mainstream. Cash won’t simply be replaced by credit cards and mobile wallets. Remember, the technology powering NFC-reliant digital wallets is still in its infancy. As younger generations embrace these newer payment methods with gusto, the trend accelerates — indicating there’s more change to come. Is your business prepared? Convenience is key; when a new payment trend emerges, you’ll want to ensure your EFTPOS terminal can meet your customers’ needs by accepting whatever form of payment is most convenient. 5. An even faster pace The pace of innovation and competition within the industry has sparked a change in consumer expectations: everything must happen quickly. Near instantaneously. Consumers have gotten used to fast transactions, and are increasingly expecting the process to become faster and faster. In this instance, a ‘consumer’ in a digital transaction refers to both: the customer of the bank (i.e. the business carrying out the transaction and accepting funds) the customer of the business (i.e. the person who is making a purchase). Both expect the transaction to happen swiftly, meaning instant payments and quick transaction settlements are already table stakes. Businesses need the ability to quickly and seamlessly process transactions, so customers can pay and continue with their day without disruption. This includes the ability to quickly identify the reason for a declined transaction , and being enabled with the information to quickly correct the issue and progress the sale. However, increased transactions volumes and instant processing requirements are stretching the banks’ decades-old legacy payments infrastructure. Nimble payments providers will be able to adapt to change and offer their users the most forward-thinking solutions, so that you can offer your own customers a great payment experience. Preparing your business for Payments 4. x The picture the Global Payments Report paints is overwhelmingly positive, despite the obvious challenges. Innovation is opening significant opportunities for payment providers to step up and differentiate themselves as forward-thinking companies that can keep up with the pace of change, and build the functionality that enables businesses to take advantage of those changes. As a merchant, it’s up to you to ensure that every one of your customers has a positive payment experience. Whether you are able to accept a customer’s method of payment, troubleshoot a declined transaction, or even continue operating in a thunderstorm depends on your EFTPOS provider. It's an important choice that will have an impact on the way you run your business for years to come. By sharing your details with us, we may contact you from time to time. We promise we won’t bug you — and you can unsubscribe from communications at any time.

How to find the right price to maximise your profits and keep customers happy. The importance of appropriately pricing your products cannot be understated. Too high and you could lose out to more affordable competitors, too low and you could struggle to break even. Finding the right pricing strategy is key to boosting your business’s growth trajectory. Whether you’re starting a brand new business or reevaluating your pricing, this article outlines the five essential steps you should be taking to correctly price, or reprice your product or service. From calculating your costs, to understanding your customers, doing market research, monitoring sales and implementing price changes: this article guides you through the art and science of pricing. 1. Calculate your costs The very first thing you need to do when deciding on a price is to calculate how much it costs you to make or deliver your product or service. You need to identify all the direct costs – that is, raw materials or components, labour costs, packaging, shipping and any manufacturing costs. You then need to consider your indirect costs, these include rent and utilities, staff salaries, marketing or advertising, general supplies and insurance and taxes such as GST. Once you have a good idea of what each product or service costs your business, you can use one of the most simple pricing strategies: cost-plus pricing. This strategy involves simply adding a markup to the cost of your product or service. For many retailers that are on-selling pre-made products, this is a common pricing method that works well. However, it does rely on your cost calculations being accurate. So, to ensure you’re not undercutting yourself, it’s important to also factor in market demand and competition. 2. Research your competitors If you’re entering or operating in a crowded market, it’s critical that you understand what the going rate is for your product or service. Do your own market research by looking online, signing up for newsletters, monitoring social media or by discreetly going into your competitors’ stores or speaking to their customer service. If you discover that your proposed pricing is far higher or lower than competing businesses, identify why. Is your product or service lacking something that your competitors are supplying? Are you offering a customer experience or convenience that your competitors are not? If your proposed pricing is in the ballpark of the existing market, then you have a few strategic options. You might choose to adopt penetration pricing, by setting a relatively low price in order to quickly attract customers to try the product, with the view of increasing prices once your business has gained some traction. Or, if your product is new or highly innovative, you may want to initially set your prices higher than your competitors in a strategy that is known as skimming pricing . This capitalises on the willingness of early adopters to pay a premium. Then you can gradually lower your prices to target broader market segments. Or, you could simply opt for competitive pricing, whereby you set your prices close to or just under what your competitors are charging. Whatever you do, it’s important to remember that your competitors’ costs and customers aren’t identical to your own. So, the aforementioned strategies will always work best for your business if you implement them in alignment with your production costs and your customers’ spending capacity. 3. Cater to your customers Getting to know your customers is one of the most important business lessons you’ll ever learn. What they value and what you offer them can make or break your business; so it pays to listen. Talk to your clients and find out what they’re looking for, then bring them more of it. If you don’t have face-to-face interaction with your customers, having a customer contact management solution will help offer insights into their purchasing behaviour. If you’re operating within a demographic that values quality, they’ll likely be prepared to pay a premium for well-made goods or white-glove service. If this is the case, your business could benefit from implementing a value-based pricing strategy , which focuses on the perceived value of the product or service. Consider the benefits, quality, and uniqueness of your offering, and price your product or service accordingly. Or, if you are aiming to create an image of prestige, you could opt for a premium pricing strategy , whereby you purposefully set a high price to position your product or service as luxurious, exclusive, and superior quality. If your customers are searching for a bargain, either you’ll need to find ways to reduce your production costs to ensure your prices stay low, or you could adopt the loss leader pricing strategy. This involves deliberately selling certain products at a loss, in the hope that customers will purchase other, more profitable items as well, making up for the initial loss. For businesses catering to a mix of customers at both ends of this spectrum, having a tiered pricing strategy will help you accommodate the diverse needs of your clientele. By offering a range of prices, you cast a wider net for reaching potential customers. 4. Track your sales Once you’ve decided on a pricing strategy, it’s time to evaluate whether it’s working or not. Having a simple, integrated process that easily shows you what’s coming in, and what’s going out is key in this process. Whether you’re accepting payments via an EFTPOS terminal or through invoicing , Zeller’s all-in-one solution is a great way to evaluate your cash flow. Business expenses can be paid for using the Zeller Debit Card or through a direct debit from the Zeller Transaction Account , and sales can be tracked via an online dashboard and mobile app , giving you an insightful visualisation of your business cash position. Seeing the net balance of your funds over time will quickly tell you if your pricing strategy is working or not, and moreover, it will enable you to identify spending patterns, which can inform whether or not you implement a dynamic pricing strategy . Adjusting your pricing to align with sales peaks or troughs – whether over days, weeks, or seasons – can help bring in customers when business is slow, or capitalise on demand at busier times. Similarly, if your business operates in different locations, being able to compare your sales in different venues can help you implement a geographical pricing strategy if necessary, where you adjust your prices to local market conditions. 5. Adjust your prices (if you need to) After monitoring your sales for a period of time, you might decide you need to change your tack. If this means decreasing your prices, most customers will welcome the change. Just make sure you can reassure them that the quality of your product isn’t also decreasing. If, on the other hand, you need to bump up your prices, there are a number of ways to go about it to ensure you don’t get your customers offside. Soften the blow by offering discounted bundles when several products or services are purchased together as a package. Improving the quality of your product, or adding in extra features, benefits, or improvements can also help to justify the increase in price. Alternatively, consider incremental increases over time to allow customers to adjust to the changes gradually. Or implement psychological pricing by rounding them down from the nearest whole, $9.99 for example. Timing is also an important factor. Generally, the beginning of the financial year (after the sales) is a good time to adjust your prices. Otherwise, identify when your busiest season is, and implement the changes then. If you’re worried about backlash, notify your clients of the price increase either in-store or via email, and clearly explain the reasons. Educating your customers and being transparent with them will help build their trust and loyalty. Finding the right price starts with the right tools. Understanding your costs, customers, positioning, competitors, and ideal profit will help you pinpoint the pricing strategy that’s right for your products. However, it’s important to note that it’s unlikely you’ll ever choose one strategy and stick with it. Your approach will adapt and change over time and in line with the market, which is why it’s important to remain agile. Equipping yourself with the right tools to help you regularly evaluate your pricing will ensure you’re always ahead of the curve. Zeller’s end-to-end solution is your number one ally when it comes to tracking your business cash flow and using sales data to strategically grow your business.