A trade can not afford not accept the fee-paying means that its clients expect use because it will lose lots of sales
Spain receives million tourists and lots will want pay with digital currencies. Earlier brought dollars and now will come with stablecoins
The trade can not abstract to the innovation with regard to payments: the client wants convenience, security and speed to buy… or it leaves to another shop. It is an ecosystem in vertiginous change that assistance also to everything type of businesses, major and very small, to sell, even, in Instagram, Tik Tok or WhatsApp without needing at least of having a website . The facilities go in parallel with the challenges because the world of the payments evolves permanently, even with new coins «»: the stablecoins already call to the door. The Corporate director of Technological Services of Cecabank, Juan José Gutiérrez, predicts that they will enter the trade, in interview within the framework of the third meeting Consumer & Retail Payments organised by AECOC and Cecabank.
Which are the main challenges that confronts the trade with regard to payments?
The trade offers a service, has a client that it has chosen it and the payment can not ruin it. He owes be without frictions and insurance. And that security has two aspects: that the client knows that it has paid and how much, and avoid the fraud, a key challenge in any transaction.
The ecosystem of the trade is very atomised. How conditions this situation the innovation adoption?
One of the main elements of the payments is its universal acceptance. When a payment is universal and there is a very big critical mass of people that it wants use it to pay and charge everything works easier, is simpler. We have major multinationals as a Visa, MasterCard, and others as an American Express, Discover, etc, that they put some standards on top of the table. And in the part of payments with accounts are building more standards: the arrival of the immediate transfers now allows building that same added value layer and standardisation. That we operate with that standard standardisation, of certifications, of certifications, of simple services is which allows the adoption by bigger businesses, smaller, more middling… The banking acts as canalizador of these solutions to businesses of any dimension, from the datáfono traditional with a POS until modules of e-commerce already integrated in platforms as Magento or Prestashop.
Adapt is an option for the businesses? they can operate with their backs to of innovations of payments?
I believe that they do not be able to. The people uses new means fee-paying because are more appropriate for them and them contribute a value: for example, to pay to credit some shoes, a t-shirt or a coat for a client that does not take that money top, or pay in instalments … A trade that it does not offer it is at a disadvantage. The same as today nobody conceives only operate with cash, can neither afford not accept the means that its clients expect use because you are going to lose lots of sales. Even with emerging solutions as stablecoins or digital currencies. If your clients want pay with that and for you are reasonably sure, then you should open you to that need and allow them the payment.
In rural areas and in certain groups the cash still dominates…
Is truth and in Cecabank also are suppliers of tickets, in addition to manage digital and electronic fee-paying solutions. The cash squatter a space and is here to stay. Have seen that, before the fall of the electricity, the people could operate thanks to that it took tickets top in the situations more adverse. The ECB poses the digital euro as a complement, not as a substitute of the cash. We say that the payments do not have «one size fits all » and they will coexist cash and digital according to the preferences of the client.
Which is the risk of not adding or integrating good the fee-based systems?
The payment is the last link and he owes be flawless. In a restaurant, an incidence it can spoil a very positive experience when paying and affect to the loyalty. In retail happens the same thing: a duplicated charge or rejected generates stress and mistrust. A fee-paying bad experience can do that the client does not return.
Which would say that it is the future of the payments in the mass distribution?
We have a geostrategic reality that it is the split of the world in different blocks that generates that the globalisation is reduced. An economic weapon that it went cut SWIFT to a country before a situation which it has generated is that that idea has been broken that it always had existed of that with a Visa Card or MasterCard and with the network of SWIFT all around the world could pay. Now are going to have different solutions fee-paying in different start from the world that are talked between them, in such a way that which for the trade was relatively simple now is complicated. You will have have Visa and MasterCard, but be also adapted to receive more classifications of payments. There are countries that they have sped up the appearance of alternative systems as PIx in Brazil. If to future have CBDC - digital cash of a central bank - looking for, for example, sovereignty of the digital euro will have accept her. In addition, every middle will add layers of value: financing o'clock of sale, fractionation, etc. We believe that there will not be a single solution that it is going to impose to the rest, but instead that they will coexist different solutions for different businesses classifications, in function also of the clients.
How can help the innovation to the trade and to the sector of the mass distribution?
The innovation contributes convenience to the transaction. We have a product, for example, that it allows selling in social networks without having a website: is enough with indicate the price, the units that you have and share a fee-paying link. We are before a new paradigm. The request to pay work in a similar way: there are professionals that they attend to an address and it can charge without taking a terminal. Earlier a transfer took one or two days; now is instantaneous. The payment owes integrate in every experience, because we do not pay equal to the refuel petrol, when doing the purchase or contract a digital service.
It wants that say that a trade, small or big, can digitise its sales and compete with the Amazon or search its sale corner?
Completely. It can address to its niche, has within your reach a variety of enormous payments. And also Spain is one of the countries with more advanced payments, with many suppliers and with some costs very very lower than the rest of Europe and, above all, of the rest of the world. The rates are lower than on much of Europe because the responsibility in adquiriencia is Barbarian.
The fraud is one of the major challenges in the payments How is fought?
Combining skilled and technology knowledge. The company of the payer looks after that it has not fraud with the card and the bank buyer protects to its client, the trade. We have ai systems also where we put a score to every transaction and, in payments with Visa or MasterCard, combine our score with theirs to take decisions. When a client is going to carry out a payment analyse where is, in what language, from what device, the operating system.. If, suddenly, a client seems be with an operating system in Chinese jumps a tremendous alarm and advises strongly authenticate to this person because it does not seem be who says be or, even, can throw away the operation. From the point of view of the trade happens the same thing. The regulations have strengthened these controls. Even so, the weakest link is the person. The frauds that see now are when a third party, using social engineering, convinces to the client to provide the transaction.
How can help the fee-paying suppliers to the fulfillment of Verifactu?
One of the great successes in this context is in the Basque Country, thanks to a standard has allowed informing to the Autonomous Agency of the transactions in the same line that Verifactu. With solutions in POS that they generate the ticket and they send the fiscal information without the trade changes its software. It has been key for small businesses and is being spread for the Whole of Spain. The new POS Android allow adding applications of added value as this service, for tips, allocation of expenses, etc.
Cecabank works to help to the receivable businesses in stablecoins it will see prompt in the establishments?
I believe that yes. In the world of digital currency there are three categories: the cbdcs, currencies issued by a central bank and that on the day that they are will see them in the businesses; the stablecoins, that I do not have doubt of that we go them to see also, and the cripto, that I do not believe that we see them although there are already ATMs crypto on the street. The stablecoins are digitisations of certain currencies in certain environments. We are the second country of the world that more tourists receives and it will come people that it wants pay with them. Which earlier was dollars, now will bring stablecoins, and is people that it often does very broad tickets. Therefore, the trade will want being able to charge.
