According to data from Pordata, 99.9% of Portugal's business fabric is made up of SMEs (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises), which makes small businesses not only the country's main employers, but also the real drivers of the national economy.
Despite their importance in the Portuguese economic landscape, SMEs face strong competition from big brands which, due to their global size, are able to work with lower margins and scale up production to cater for a greater number of consumers.
Given the huge differences between small businesses and large companies, differentiation in the market can never be achieved by quantity or by squeezing profit margins, but by a set of factors that can be summed up in a single word: personalisation.
In addition to a customer service that brings retailer and consumer closer together, the personalisation of the purchasing journey also involves loyalty strategies that include innovative payment methodsThe new product will be in line with current consumer habits.
The importance of diversified payment methods for small businesses
In an SME, the expectations and needs of each customer must be prioritised. This means offering familiar, simple and fast payment methods that make the moment of purchase easier.
According to the Bank of Portugal, payments with credit and debit cards and contactless devices are, along with cash, the favourite among Portuguese consumers - rising from 8% in 2020 to 53% at the end of 2023.
Also noteworthy are MB WAY, which increased by 33% in number of operations and 38% in value traded in 2023, and the digital walletsThese include Google Pay and Apple Pay, which allow instant payments by smartphone.
Consumers today have a wide range of flexible payment options, and small businesses must keep up with these developments in order to retain customers and increase turnover.
The more diverse the methods offered, the greater the comfort and security at the time of payment.
But there's more: innovation in these solutions contributes to a faster checkoutless friction and a increase in average ticket.
In addition, these methods allow integration with mobile applications adapted to the business sector, making it easier to manage invoices, stocks and even bookings.
Installment payments, contactless and digital wallets: which ones to implement for small businesses?
The emergence of transactional technologies such as payment instalments, o contactless and the digital wallets has brought small businesses closer to their customers. But what do these solutions consist of?
Payment in instalments
They allow the customer to pay for purchases in instalments, without interest. This gives you more flexibility and eliminates the limitation of the money available at the time, increasing the average ticket per transaction.
The solution Instalment plan with UNICRE is an example of this, as it allows physical and online businesses to offer their customers the option of paying for their purchases in 2 to 6 interest-free instalments, but receiving the full amount of the purchase immediately.
Contactless payments
Depending on the Physical TPA used, the business can accept contactless payments, without a PIN and in a faster, more hygienic and secure way.
Digital wallets
With contactless technology integrated into the terminals, it is possible to accept payments by smartphones and smartwatchessuch as MB WAYGoogle Pay and Apple Pay - offering an experience aligned with customers' consumption habits.
Which ones to implement?
The answer is simple: all.
With the Android terminal REDUNIQ SmartThere's no need to choose. It accepts chip cards, MB WAY, Google Pay, Apple Pay, instalment payments via the app Instalment plan with UNICREand allows you to install management applications adapted to the reality of each SME.
Other features include immediate digital risk analysis at the time of payment in instalments, allowing the total amount of the sale to be received by the retailer in up to 48 hoursrisk-free.
You can also realise returns without a card, send invoices by email, personalise receipts and much more.
How do modern TPAs improve the customer experience?
The customer is at the centre of the development of the new generation terminals. By offering a wide range of payment methods, these POS terminals guarantee a faster, more convenient and more familiar shopping experience.
The installation of apps - such as payment instalments or reservations - allows customers to better manage their personal and financial lives, with greater flexibility in both purchases and returns.
Strategies to optimise payments and boost sales
In the duel small companies vs big brandsAn SME can be the consumer's choice - as long as it creates differentiation.
1st Strategy: Adapt the TPA to the size of the business
For micro-enterprises (96.3% of companies in Portugal), the choice should fall on one of the following terminal free of chargesuch as REDUNIQ Easywhich:
-
There are no commissions, minimum income, annual fees or loyalty;
- You only pay a monthly fee according to the monthly turnover of your business;
-
Accepts payments by PIN, contactless and MB WAY;
-
It appeals to various consumer profiles;
-
Contributes to an increase in turnover.
2nd Strategy: Taking payments to the customer
Mobility is essential. With the REDUNIQ Softthe retailer installs an application on its smartphone or tablet and turn it into a Android POS which accepts contactless, NFC and QR Code payments anywhere, anytime.
Strategy 3: Captivate foreign customers with familiar payment methods
As well as paying in instalments, you can go further. With the increase in tourism, it's important to adapt payment methods:
-
With the DCC - Currency ConversionCustomers can pay in their home currency. The retailer receives a additional revenue with the shared markup;
-
For Brazilian customers, REDUNIQ's payment solutions enable payments with PIXA familiar and efficient solution, with automatic conversion from real to euro and lower costs than cards.
EN 
PT_PT