POS Technology Discuss the Pros and Cons of payWave and PayPass Fees in New Zealand

As a veteran of the point-of-sale industry with 19 years of experience – and one of the most trusted experts on EFTPOS NZ has to offer – POS Technology are well-placed to weigh up both sides of the payWave/PayPass argument and judge whether going contactless is worth it for businesses in New Zealand, as they clarify below.

POS Technology explain that fees depend on banks and providers, but research found that New Zealand retailers are paying on average 1.2 per cent for every contactless payment they process, with some retailers paying up to 3.5 per cent according to Retail New Zealand. Some businesses have started to move these costs onto the customer by introducing surcharges on contactless transactions, effectively discouraging them to pay via payWave/PayPass, while other companies such as Burger King have ditched it altogether.

Regardless of the fees that are charged on contactless payments, their use in New Zealand has increased to an average of 25 million transactions per month, almost doubling since this time last year. More New Zealanders than ever are going contactless, and the advent of apps such as Apple Pay has allowed cardless transactions that still attract the same contactless fees for retailers.

Furthermore, research undertaken by Paymark and TRA showed that retailers who have chosen to use payWave and PayPass in their stores have enjoyed double the sales growth of those who haven’t, and double the overall number of transactions. This perhaps is due to the size of the companies choosing to use contactless payments as opposed to those not as, on the whole, most large retailers allow for payWave and PayPass.

At the end of the day, the question of whether allowing contactless payments is worth it at this stage depends entirely on your business’s individual characteristics and needs. For larger retailers, where payWave will increase your customer base by allowing more transactions to take place, there’s an obvious benefit. However it will still have to be weighed up against the costs of fees.

However, two factors loom large for the future of NZ retailers when it comes to payWave. Firstly, as indicated by former commerce minister Jacqui Dean, regulation may be on the way for contactless payment fees. Secondly, and more importantly, the rate at which New Zealanders are moving toward contactless is increasing rapidly, and there is little doubt this is the way of the future, regardless of the current rate of fees.

If your business is looking to make a step toward the future by purchasing payWave/PayPass-enabled POS terminals, and for more information on