As the first generation of financially independent adults that are digital-natives, Gen Zers are poised to shake up the way traditional businesses do business. The first thing to go will be parts of the checkout experience that prove slow and unwieldy to this generation of instant-gratification seekers, so you’ll need to upgrade your payment methods to keep young customers. We’re already seeing that happen as things like digital wallets gain mainstream popularity. So if you want to prepare your business for the next generation of customers, you better be ready for these changes, because they’ll be here quicker than you think. Let’s go over some things you can do to prepare your business as your customer base becomes increasingly digital. 

Our first recommendation on how to upgrade your business to be more receptive to Gen Z and beyond is to accommodate one of these new types of payment. All new debit and credit cards are now equipped with a “tap to pay” functionality, allowing a customer to tap their card on a terminal to make the payment. It’s much faster than inserting or swiping, and you’ll never have to tap twice like you often have to insert or swipe multiple times. Customers will remember how easy it is to pay for your products or services, and will want to come back if the experience is seamless. Get in touch with us if you want to learn more about implementing a tap-to-pay terminal at your store.

Another method that is particularly popular among Gen Z are mobile payments via a digital wallet. For example, iPhone users can use Apple Pay to store their card data on their phone, and use their phone to pay for things via a contactless payment scanner. All they have to do is hover their phone above a contactless scanner to complete the payment. For more on how to accept digital wallet payments, click here. 

A different way to accept mobile payments is called TXT2Pay, which was created by a partner of ours by the name of Authvia. When accepting payments with TXT2Pay, all you have to do is send a text to the customer. Authvia will issue a unique 4 character code for each transaction that the user responds with, and their card on file gets charged, completing the transaction with just a few keystrokes on your smartphone. Using this unique code system helps prevent credit card disputes from customers, as they have to respond with a different unique code each time. TXT2Pay is great for businesses who serve repeat customers, like a mechanic, a health clinic, or a wholesaler, or if you send a lot of invoices to your customers and don’t want to wait weeks for their payment to come. 

Another thing you should do to get your traditional business caught up to the times is create some form of social media presence. Nowadays young people often research businesses on social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, or TikTok instead of on a search engine like Google. While it would be amazing if you could create a content strategy and post regularly, social media isn’t as easy for business owners who aren’t digital natives.

At the very least, you should create an account for your business, and include all of your branding and business information(phone number, address, website, etc.). Having at least one post on your page too is a must, so people can see what you’re really like and the products and services you offer. It doesn’t matter if you don’t get a lot of likes or post frequently, so long as Gen Zers who search on social can find you and understand your business. 

And lastly, keep up with the news and business trends relevant to your industry! Just like how keeping up with trends is a great way to grow your social media audience, keeping up with business trends will prevent you from being caught off guard by some new payment technology. There is constant innovation happening all around us, and with each year comes a faster and easier way to perform any essential business process. So keep an eye on the horizon for what’s to come!

Do these things, and you’ll be much better equipped for when the world’s biggest generation is old enough to be making decisions in terms of public policy, finance companies, and banking. With up-to-date payment methods, the younger crowd will keep coming back to your business, guaranteed. Feel free to reach out to us with any questions, and join our mailing list to keep up with great social and blog content like this, as well as other exciting events and innovations in the fintech space! Subscribe here.