Pagamentos Eletrónicos em Portugal: tendências em 2024

A reflection of the new patterns of consumption and greater demands from When it comes to consumers paying for their purchases, brands and businesses should be prepared to adopt new electronic payment methods!

What is an electronic payment method?

An electronic means of payment is one that allows consumers and businesses to pay and receive payments in physical shops and online. Among the existing types, the following stand out:

Acquirer

When a customer pays for a purchase by card, the buyer (acquirer) is responsible for receiving the money from the customer's bank and transferring it to the retailer's account.

Payment gateway

One payment gateway is the term used to describe the interface that enables the processing and transmission of payment data between an online business, customers and banks.

The payment methods offered by these means include debit and credit cards, digital wallets, ATM referencesbank transfers and MB WAY.

Trends in the electronic payment system in 2024

Here are the three main payment trends in Portugal that your business should be aware of in 2024:

Payment instalments 

Although in Brazil and the US paying in instalments has been common practice for several years, in Portugal it is still a novelty, but one that could enable you to win more customers for your shop.

As we mentioned, the TPA Android REDUNIQ Smart gives you the possibility to install terminal apps to help you manage your business.

One of them is the new instalment app now, a solution developed between UNICRE and Parcela Já.

This solution allows businesses to offer their customers greater flexibility when it comes to paying for their purchases, between two and six interest-free monthly instalments and without any additional financial burden. 

Available at REDUNIQ SmartAt the time of payment, the customer only has to:

  1. Present ID card, credit card and mobile phone.
  2. Choose the option to pay for the purchase in between 2 and 6 monthly instalments (first instalment charged at the time), with the minimum instalment being 20€.

Tap To Pay" technology

One of the trends for 2024, which goes hand in hand with the growing digitalisation and convenience of payments, is the increased popularity of contactless payment technologies such as "Tap To Pay".

Although in Portugal this concept is not entirely new, with the constant evolution of smartphones and wearables that support NFC paymentsIt is expected that by 2024 the "Tap to Pay" technology will be consolidated with greater uptake by retailers, following a similar path to other European countries.

In this context, REDUNIQ offers the solution REDUNIQ SoftThis APP allows your business to accept payments without the need for a physical POS, in a simple, secure and easy way, via an APP installed on your smartphone or tablet, thus enabling your business to receive payments by Contactless (via card) and MB WAY, Google Pay, Apple Pay (QR Code, mobile phone number or NFC).

With this REDUNIQ solution, turn your smartphone into a payment terminal and start accepting payments anywhere, wherever your business is, without any monthly POS fees.

Contactless payments

In recent years, banknotes and coins have given way to cashless paymentsThe most important of these are Contactless PIN.

As well as enabling your business to offer faster and more secure payments to your customers, the presence of a terminal contactless in their commercial premises not only meets consumers' payment habits, but also stimulates growth in the average ticket (the amount spent on average on each purchase).

For example, according to REDUNIQ Insights, the contactless payments already account for 56% of national business turnover, with 71% of transactions being carried out using this technology, percentages that are expected to grow over the next few years as the Bank of Portugal prepares to oblige commercial establishments to offer and accept at least one electronic means of payment. 

In order to help your business accommodate this change in Portuguese payment patterns in 2024, REDUNIQ offers you the following solutions, among others,

  • The first is REDUNIQ Easy, a payment terminal, where you pay a monthly fee tailored to your business, with no membership costs, loyalty period or minimum revenue, and which allows you to accept credit and debit card payments (Visa and Mastercard brands) by Contactless, PIN and MB WAY.
  • If your business has a high turnover, the REDUNIQ solution includes REDUNIQ Smart, a Physical TPA which, in addition to allowing a business to accept contactless payments with Visa and Mastercard, by chip, MB Way, Google Pay and Apple Pay, brings a set of built-in management apps that will help you manage your cash flow and allow your business to be completely mobile and digital.

Bank transfers made using only your mobile phone number

While until now only MB WAY users could use their mobile phone number to make money transfers, from 2024 all bank customers will be covered by this measure.

Thus, when paying for a purchase by transfer, all you have to do is enter the beneficiary's mobile phone number instead of the IBAN.