In 2019, payment kiosks are everywhere-at the mall, the bus stop, the airport, your favorite fast-food restaurant, and while they may appear invasive, they are changing the way many live their daily lives. Because of payment kiosks, traveling is much easier with fewer hassles. Going to a government building is less of a drain on your day. Self-service kiosks are expediting many of the monotonous tasks of our day, and helping to save you valuable time. Today, we are going to delve into some of the benefits of payment kiosks and how they can help just about any industry.
What is a Payment Kiosk
A payment kiosk is a type of self-service kiosk that is able to receive a bill payment in exchange for a service or good rendered. An example of this is buying a ticket at a bus stop, where money is inserted, and a bus ticket is printed for you without having you interact with a bus station employee. The advantage of this is that this streamlined process allows companies to allocate their resources elsewhere while still being able to service a customer’s needs on their own terms.
How does a kiosk use payment systems: How do they work
A payment system is any system that is used to settle financial transactions through the transfer of monetary value. That is the technical definition, but the simplified version is that a payment system is any system designed to collect money in exchange for a good or service. Self-service kiosk implement this rather well, by providing a good or service, where the consumer can deposit cash or card to receive a good or service in exchange.
Industries that use payment kiosks
- Fast Food-Fast food restaurants employ payment kiosks so that you can order food and pay for it either at the kiosk itself or at the front of the line when your order is ready.
- Government-Government buildings employ payment kiosks for handling parking ticket exchanges or for payment of a pre-existing fee or fine.
- Utility-Utility companies such as water and electric use payment kiosks to handle bill payments
- Phone Companies-Similar to utility companies, phone companies use payment kiosks outside their offices to handle bill payments should a customer require them.
- Banks-Banks employ payment kiosks to serve as intermediaries for their services. A customer can deposit or withdraw their money or pay for any fees from a self-service kiosk.
- Health Care-Although most kiosks at hospitals are information kiosks, many are fitted with nfc and payment options. These payment options allow patients to pay their medical bills.
- Corporate-Corporate companies use a wide variety of payment kiosks for exchanging vendor goods such as extra computer peripherals.
- Transportation-Transportation companies utilize payment kiosks for handling ticket exchanges.
Benefits of Payment Kiosks
Payment kiosks illicit a wide array of benefits but the largest benefit would be customer freedom. By allowing payments to be self-automated, customers now enjoy a larger array of freedom when it comes to their purchasing power. Below are just a few additional benefits payment kiosks can bring to any business.
- Cost Effective-principal benefit after customer freedom is the ability for kiosks to save on resources, most importantly, staff time. With many functions handled by a payment kiosk, customers can simply walk up, pay and leave, saving administrative staff or other employees a great deal of time.
- Profitable-Since these services are automated, payment Kiosks are much more profitable than traditional means, as your kiosk will always attract customers, and since it is fast and simple, it can generate revenue with very little upkeep required.
- Adaptable-Beyond just providing payment services, self-service kiosks can fit a number of roles such as wayfinding and information database.
- Connectivity-Self-service kiosks are connected to a network, allowing them to be remotely accessed from anywhere with an internet connection. This advantage allows for new software patches and updates on the fly.
- Quicker Service-Due to its ease of use, self service kiosks can be accessed by just about anyone, allowing for quick and easy interactions between the consumer and the company. In addition, having more functions regulated to the kiosks allows for the staff to assist with other functions, exponentially increasing the speed that a customer's needs are met.
- Eye Catching-With many kiosks having large digital screens, this creates more draw to the place of business, increasing the customer base.
- Active Interaction-Since the kiosks are self-service, this means that customers are an active participant in choosing their own needs, creating less error in choosing what they want instead of having to rely on a third party.
- Improved Customer satisfaction-As stated previously, with quicker service, customer satisfaction needs are met at a higher pace, drawing in more repeat business as it is much easier for a customer to engage with a machine on their own terms
Types of Payment Kiosks:
- Outdoor-Outdoor kiosks are designed to provide their services in almost any weather condition, whether it be rain, sun or snow. These are typically freestanding models, with their design typically more robust than the indoor variants as much of the kiosk needs to be able to weather any condition and be durable enough to survive impacts from other sources to prevent tampering. Their large size also provides a large area for more attractive advertisements.
- Indoor-More nimbly designed than the outdoor variants, indoor kiosks vary between freestanding models to small tablets. These designs are typically more popular with most industries due to their flexibility in size as they do not need to be as large as outdoor models.
- Custom -Of course custom kiosk models exist for those that want the benefits of both outdoor and indoor variants. There are some kiosks that float in between these two types and any kiosk company is happy to build one based on your individual needs.
Where to buy a payment kiosk?
Payment kiosks can be purchased through a variety of credible companies. These kiosks can be customised to a large degree based on a company's needs and specifications. For custom models, many of these companies offer a discount for bulk orders.
Redyref Interactive can provide high quality kiosk designs no matter the specifications. They can provide digital kiosks that fit a wide spectrum of use, whether it is for wayfinding, payment or information-Redyref Interactive will happily build any kiosk to fit your needs.
While it is true that payment kiosks have limited some of the human interaction from typical transactions, it has also expedited many tasks that were less than desirable. This has made it better for everyone in the long run, with more customers willing to engage and be more comfortable around self-service kiosks rather than neglecting the task altogether. With automation, payment kiosks have changed how we do business, and in short, added more power back into the hands of the consumer.
