Importance of contactless payments during the coronavirus crisis
The global pandemic situation made companies develop their technology facilities to ensure their workers’ safer and easier working environments. Innovative solutions like contactless payments prevent us from paying with cash as viruses are proven to be viable on this surface as well. It becomes useless to use a hand disinfectant if then we pay with banknotes for the product or service we wish to buy.
Paying by cash is still the most prefered payment method in the Hungarian society. However, excessively using banknotes is not sustainable for the economic actors — not for the state, for the vendors nor the population, especially in case of a global pandemic. In many aspects the coronavirus opens new horizons in technology — think about distance learning, home-office and the new opportunities of card payments. The banking sector will be severely affected by the crisis, but instant transfer system, which has been implemented in early March, may be the jolly joker for the financial actors.
Financial technology is flourishing in a pace that has never been seen before. With the launch of MasterCard’s PayPass payment, competitors have been forced into a so-called ‘FinTech Revolution’. Contactless payments have become the integral part of our daily lives, as not only does it save money and time for the customer, but also makes purchases as convenient as possible.
As of 2nd March, the 24h instant cash transaction system became available for residental and corporate clients in Hungary, which ensures the seamless, safe and the real-time transfer of currency between the parties. The transfer transactions are fulfilled within less than 5 seconds, except for group transfers that are subject to standard transfer policies. According to experts, this might be the solution to measurably decrease cash withdrawal that leads to the reduction of the intensity of Forint banknote issues by the Hungarian National Bank. Several banks allow clients to upload cash at its ATMs that also contributes to the mitigation of the number of banknotes in circulation.
The instant transfer system opens up new perspectives on the field of banking, as the payment request function — already active in the Revolut app — may become available soon. Nothing else is needed for the payment request, just a phone number, an e-mail address and the tax number. This solution can perfectly replace the complicated procedure of paying the utility bills such as electricity, water and TV, thus the service provider can reduce the money collection process to a fraction. The payment request is only optional for now in Hungary.
Budapest is one of the most influential places in CEE providing the startup ecosystem where innovators can easily test and implement their FinTech solutions. Rollet is one example of contactless payment, they enable any car to become a rolling wallet without any touch. No manual cash or card payments and no queuing is needed in parking lots, at fuel stations, or at drive-through restaurants.
The process of contactless Rollet Pay:
- The user registers personal details, license plate number, and credit card information in the app.
- Upon registration, contactless payment becomes immediately available to the customer’s car or even multiple cars.The automated payment process takes only 2 seconds.
- After a successful transaction the user receives an e-receipt of the given service. Rollet Pay is also available for companies to claim VAT invoice through the app.
Drive-through payment is currently active in the parking sector and is available in more than 30 locations nationwide, including Budapest and several country towns, as well as at Debrecen International Airport, where the award-winning payment solution was first installed at an airport parking lot. The implementation of the innovation in other service types is currently under closed testing and continuous improvements to existing services are ongoing.
