New customer journeys are paving a path for digital retailers while the pandemic and fluctuations in
the global economy are accelerating the fintech revolution. Together they synergise and leave us
wondering, is this the end of traditional financial infrastructure?

As both, customers and businesses embrace digital convenience, fintech creates measurable growth
opportunities for entrepreneurs when other sectors assay to stay afloat amidst the COVID-19 outbreak.
With over 1 billion credit card transactions occurring daily worldwide, the growing pains of customers increase exponentially, breaching the trust between customers and central banking institutions. Digital influx made banking more mobile, eradicating the need for brick and mortar banks, by enabling customers the usage of e-wallets, and integrating the entire banking process onto one frequently used device – a phone. Yet, does fintech have what it takes to transform the system so intrinsically tied with the sovereign? Well, history shows that when it comes to adaptability and digital innovation, no one is immune.

Here’s how FinTech is set to disrupt traditional banking

The rise of Fin-fluencers:

The demand for fiscal intelligence amongst the younger generation is growing with the continuation
of the pandemic, shifting towards a generation of people with basic global financial understanding.
Accredited digital knowledge sources, specifically on social media channels, are now primary sources
of education and information for Millenials and Zoomers. These demographic cohorts prefer to gain
insights from someone they can relate to. The fin-fluencer wave highlights that emotional connection
fosters positive consumer behaviour.
The main communication channels for fin-fluencers are Instagram, Youtube, and TikTok. Fin-fluencers
gained media recognition during the COVID-19 outbreak when the social media content viewership
and the average time spent on SM platforms rose. For instance, the average time spent on TikTok
increased by 38% by 202. Their expertise and authority largely stem from their previous work
experience and academic backgrounds, with fin-fluencers hailing from globally accredited companies
on Wall Street and others.

Influencers are no longer only followed for lifestyle blogging and product endorsement while Gen Z
and Millenials are no longer reliant on corporations, academic institutions, and centralized banking
systems to navigate their finances. Making finances ‘cool’ for younger generations, fin-fluencers are
in a way a testament to the financial vision of the future generation.

Unbiased banking:

Unbiased banking addresses the needs of the minority groups and unbanked population. More
specifically, unbiased banking refers to Neobanks – digital banking platforms with seamless digital
banking solutions with low or no service fees. Customers that aren’t currently affiliated with a centralised bank are more likely to register with an unbiased banking system for its financial flexibility
and limited legal documentation requirements.
As a part of the GlobalCloudPayments™ financial ecosystem, IIZIPAY is a completely customisable
white-labelled neobank. Offering direct access to CRM data and consumer behaviour, IIZIPAY enables
users to use their crypto wallets to scan personal QR codes and access a range of blockchain-based
services. From monitoring buying behaviour and spending patterns, GlobalCloudPayments™ enables
businesses better connectivity to customers and maximise market potential.

Social media credit:

Unlike traditional credit scores, social media credit implements the trend in the digitalization of business processes to develop a diversified credit rating system that evaluates consumer’s credit rating based on social media statistics rather than depicting a consumer’s creditworthiness based on a number of open accounts, total levels of debt, and repayment history. Similar to unbiased banking, social network credit targets underserved minority groups and younger consumers. Eschewing from service
fees and significant interest, social media banking systems penetrate the potentially lucrative new
market of Zoomers.
Social media credit schemes can implement social media credit checks by temporarily linking social
profiles via QR codes and evaluating profiles for loan applicability. Convenient and engaging in
nature, this fintech segment drives behavioural change from a unique perspective.

Blockchain technology:

While facilitating the process of recording transactions, Blockchain also provides a transparent,
immutable ledger, compromising a detailed overview of all transactions from
end to end. Affiliated with bitcoin, blockchain technology is a key driver in decentralising the
cryptosystem by creating multiple nodes, each recording transaction data since its
origination. This creates a financial structure where no one within the network can alter the
held Information. Despite the blockchain’s current implementation across supply chains,
digital IDs, voting and real estate, the ledger’s secure, fast and irreversible system foster the
growth of decentralised financial structures across the globe.

NFTs – Non Fungible Tokens:

Simply put, NFT is a digital asset emblematic of real-world objects such as arts, in-game
items, visuals and music. Traded and sold on the web, such tokens quickly increased in popularity.
Commodifying assets that are not tradable with fiat accounts, NFTs are regarded as an alternative
method of transaction. In 2021, the NFTs global sales volume surged to $2.5 billion from $13.7
million in 2020.

Final thought

Fintech and DeFi encourage customers to refrain from all bureaucracy and intermediaries while
optimising their cash and payroll management and all-in-all reducing ATM operational costs that are
essentially ineluctable when dealing with big banks. Why spend more on legal enactments when you
can instead turn your financial resources into your working capital.
Yet even within the dynamic pace of financial technology, we shouldn’t completely write off banks
just yet. Central banks continue to ensure global economic stability. Fiat currencies are still leading
large transactions and partnerships. So what can brick and mortar infrastructures do to stay
relevant?
1. Partner with transformative fintech companies.
2. Enable direct, transparent and secure transactions between businesses and their customers.
3. Create tailor-made 24/7 services.
4. Offer virtual interfaces powered by AI.
5. Limit transaction costs.
6. Enhance digital banking solutions.
7. Enable quick access to the desired cryptocurrency from the comfort of the banking app.

The FinTech industry has always been a pillar in human growth by enabling companies and communities better utilize and sustain their financial operations. Efficient use of these investments improves the quality of life and businesses’ quality order. However, in the past few years, financial institutions ignored the ecosystem, which resulted in a degradation of the environment leading to climate change, pollution, and natural resource depletion.

FinTech plays a major role in maintaining the sustainability of resources, yet very little effort was incorporated to solve environmental issues. Until recently, few FinTech companies started acknowledging the necessity of green investment which led to an advancement in sustainable growth. Partially because it reflects on the brand’s image and for the profit generated from adapting the business model to a more sustainable, green one. According to a recent global study by the MIT Sloan Management Review (MIT SMR) and the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), the number of companies reporting a profit following their sustainability efforts rose from 23% to 37% in one year only.

Accordingly, many FinTech’s have been adapting their business model in a way that benefits the environment all while increasing their profit, efficiency, and customer loyalty. An example of such companies would be GlobalCloudPayments, a FinTech company that is working towards accelerating the growth of the retail sector. By making Smart ATMs backed by Cloud and NextGen technologies to ensure prosperity-driven sustainable growth and the inclusiveness of financial services. Most importantly by considering the entire ecosystem and working towards achieving a greener environment with a small humanity footprint supported by FinTech. How can a FinTech company like GlobalCloudPayments contribute to the environmental cause?

Mobile App access

By offering their customers a mobile App (IZIIPAY) integration that enables them to set up cash withdrawals using their smartphones then scan a QR code at the ATM or enter a one-time password to complete the transaction. This e-wallet integration feature provided by Smart ATMs is a great step towards eradicating plastic credit or debit cards and moving towards card-less transactions.  According to a study banks globally issue 6 billion plastic credit cards per year, which end up in landfills due to the material it is made of. Furthermore, instead of developing an entirely new mobile app that requires new energy and can significantly impact the environment, why not use a white-label mobile app. This environmentally friendly solution enables businesses to have their own app with minimum impact and the lowest costs.

Are you interested in knowing more about white-label apps, B2B, B2C, or card programs, and loyalty? Reach out to Kate Detkin IZZIPAY’s Product Lead and request your free demo.

E- receipts

The United States alone consumes 3.3 million trees and thirty-four billion liters of water while emitting 2 million kilos of CO2 in the process of paper receipt production. That is why many retailers, banks, and ATM deployers are becoming more environmentally conscientious and looking to use printer-less ATM machines that offer E-receipts options.

Cash recycling and lower Cash in Transit

Despite the use of digital currencies, cash transactions are still dominant in the retail sector especially, which means large volumes of cash needs to be transported on daily basis. However, transporting cash poses huge security and environmental threat.

Along with cash management software, cash recycling can help leading global, regional, or local retail chains, process and collect large volumes daily. Smart recycling ATM reduces the amount of Cash in Transit visits by storing and dispensing securely cash needed for daily usage while reporting a detailed history of transactions to their banks. By implementing cash recyclers, you can benefit from immediate operational efficiency, improve your consumer service while keeping cash management costs at a minimum. Fewer CIT visits also mean fewer kilometer visits of a heavily armored truck which means less CO2 emissions. Customers get their cash from the closest Supermarket without the need to use any type of service that has a physical environmental impact.

Solar-power

2020 has witnessed an increase in the use of ATMs which made it necessary to reach certain marginalized communities for multiple reasons, some of which are: To have a presence in untapped rural markets and provide financial services to marginalized communities. Using environmentally-friendly Smart ATMs will also provide customers with a reliable option in case of any electricity shortage while lowering their operational costs and carbon footprint.

Because of the threat global warming poses on our environment, GlobalCloudPayments along few other FinTech’s are shifting towards green finance and the reduction of negative externalities, all in the hope of introducing financial products targeted to environmental care. This tendency to go green has contributed to the global surge of green bonds in Europe, which is expected to grow from around the current level of EUR 662/672 billion to EUR 1 trillion by the end of 2021 and EUR 2 trillion by the end of 2023, according to (NN IP).

According to Investopedia green bonds are a type of fundraising dedicated to environmental and climate projects. It is usually linked to a company’s assets and aims at reducing the effect of climate change and cultivating environmentally friendly innovations. Green bonds are accompanied by a tax exemption and tax credits to encourage companies to work on projects that benefit the environment.

Did you know that globally, 1.7 billion adults are unbanked and excluded from formal financial services? How do you think consumers feel when they are forced to move with the technological development of e-payments while they prefer alternative payment methods?

It is essential now to prioritize financial inclusion for unserved populations. Being it a considerable part of development that improves the populations’ standard of living, narrows the income gap, and ultimately helps eradicate poverty.

Financial inclusion in this context refers to delivering financial products and services to all segments regardless of their economic status. Despite the availability of banking solutions that don’t seem to appeal as an alternative to existing informal ones.

In this regard, FinTech integration can help a great deal in closing the gap in financial inclusion.

FinTech integration and digital solutions can significantly impact the following 6 values to close the loop in financial inclusion and make it independent, for people and businesses.

Retail technology-driven growth for businesses:

By using FinTech integration and Digital solutions, you as a business owner should expect a more convenient Know Your Customer (KYC) scheme and real-time verification process.

Your business can additionally:

Attract more customers:

By implementing FinTech technologies, like AI, NextGen, and cloud processors. You can learn a lot about your customers’ behavior and incorporate it into your CRM tools. As each clients’ action can be used to enhance your overall customer experience.

Increase in-store traffic:

By providing a wide range of financial services, you can enhance your customers’ experience and retention rate, and leverage the information gathered, to boost your client satisfaction and therefore create additional revenue opportunities and in-store traffic.

Diversify consumers’ basket:

Alongside the detergent and dairy shelves in your store, adding a “FinTech shelf” packed with financial services to your assortment will help improve customer loyalty. The following study suggests that increasing customer retention and loyalty can boost your sales, simply because your loyal customers trust your brand and are willing to spend more. According to the research, increasing retention through customer loyalty by only 5% can boost sales by 25% to 95%.

FinTech driven growth for people:

Accessibility & inclusiveness:

Our solution is inclusive by, on one hand, making financial services accessible for marginalized and unbanked communities who have no access to banking services, and on the other hand, providing people with freedom of choice to pick which payment method they are most comfortable with, being its digital payments, cash transactions or crypto.

Smart city ecosystem:

Integrating Smart ATMs in the backend provides economies with an interface and infrastructure to help access social services which makes Smart ATMs a gateway to the Smart city ecosystem for customer interaction.

Convenience & saving:

Having the freedom of choice regarding which payment method to choose. Additionally, having cash at their disposal within their stores’ premises comes with many conveniences. This means customers now can save through multiple innovative products such as loyalty programs and e-wallets.

FinTech and Retail tech startups have been paving the way towards prosperity-driven growth and financial inclusion, using Cloud and NextGen technologies to, on one hand, help marginalized communities access financial solutions, and on the other hand, help governments increase their economic contribution and tackle poverty. One of these innovative companies is GlobalCloudPayments.

GlobalCloudPayments is a FinTech company that is working on reinventing the old-fashioned ATM deployers and transforming them to Smart ATMs backed with Cloud and NextGen technologies which provide a wide range of Smart financial services to retailers on one hand, and making financial services inclusive to unbanked marginalized populations.

By aiming FinTech towards the bottom of the consumers’ pyramid, financial solutions are now more accessible even for millions of unbanked, marginalized communities in emerging markets.

Every business owner is looking for strategic ways to boost their sales and increase their revenue. This is when ideas with a minimum ownership cost become a preference when thinking of investing. The most common options are properties or spare space for rent, delivery services, or certain franchises. However, thanks to the Next Gen technologies, one of the most profitable streams of passive income that hasn’t yet reached its fame is Smart ATMs. Besides being more innovative, it is an easy way to achieve excellent results with an acceptable risk profile. In this blog, we will talk about how complex is to operate Smart ATMs? How to make money with a Smart ATM and the added value benefits of a Smart ATM for your customers.

But first, what is a Smart ATM?

ATMs have been there for decades and used daily by most adults at least once in their lives. Others use it frequently even daily to access a preferred way of making payments. Now imagine that you are a supermarket chain, consumer electronics store, shopping mall, or coffee shop with hundreds or thousands of customers daily. What if besides buying a pack of muesli; a laptop with a pair of headphones; or simply grabbing a favorite coffee-to-go, your customers start to receive a whole spectrum of financial services. Simply in-store, on their favorite shopping route, closer to local communities. This is when a Smart ATM or as we call It “Bank-in-Shop” ™ powered by GlobalCloudPayments comes into play.

How profitable is a Smart ATM machine business?

Having a Smart ATM right beside that Ice cream stall in your mall or supermarket will enable you to make money off each withdrawal made, that is several thousand euros that you could be making per month as a passive income stream. In addition to that, you will gain more by displaying ads, placing marketing screens on your Smart ATMs. You can also brand your entire Smart ATM fleet as your own brand or brand it for one of your current partners.

What are the benefits of converting your stores to “Bank-in-Shop” ™ outlets?

Placing a Smart ATM at your location will bring you several benefits, to mention a few:

More in-store traffic, hence higher revenues

Having a Smart ATM at your establishment will attract more customers who are willing to spend more when having access to cash, which will help you get more traffic and increase your revenue and sales. Studies have shown that having a regular ATM at your business can increase your traffic by up to 15% while having a direct positive influence on your sell-out.

Author’s remark:

There is no data available on Smart ATMs just yet, though we will make sure to post a case study as soon as we can. (A gut feeling is that Smart ATM numbers will be significantly higher due to disproportional added value to consumers).

Diversify customer basket

To diversify & mitigate retail business risks especially during the times we live in having more than one stream of income is vital. Relying on a single source of clients is not a long-term growth strategy, that is why thinking out of the box might help to create a solid business that generates several revenue streams.

Reduce credit card processing fee

To accept a credit card payment, you would have to pay about 1.3% to 3.5%, plus the payment processor’s cut in addition to the interchange fees and assessment fees, which can be costly for business owners and merchants. Studies have shown that having a regular ATM at your location will encourage clients to withdraw and pay with cash, while customers can fulfill their daily financial needs. With Smart ATM you will be able to get yourself travel insurance, top-up your gaming wallet, convert crypto to EUR, and of course deposit & withdraw some cash too.

Convenience

Providing your customers with the option of having cash at their disposal within your stores’ premises comes with many conveniences. Allowing your customers to choose in which way they would like to pay their bills will be rewarded with your customers’ loyalty, word of mouth for a cutting-edge financial technology hub, that replaces banking branches.

How to set up a “Bank-in-Shop” ™ or Smart ATM machine?

If you are a business owner looking for ways to increase your revenue and attract more traffic then Smart ATM business is the right fit for you.  Before jumping into any business endeavor you surely might want to consider some pros & cons:

The expenses associated with purchasing an ATM machine and operating it

While this type of venture does not require office space or staff, there are still few expenses to consider. The total investment associated with opening an ATM business can vary depending on 1. The Smart ATM machine you are willing to invest in and may range from 5,000€ to 20,000€ depending on your needs 2. The service & maintenance provider you are dealing with 3. Transaction processing software partner of your choice GlobalCloudPayments as an option. In case you operate a merchant-filled Smart ATM you don’t need to have a Cash-in-Transit (CIT) provider who will replace cassettes in your ATM.

Installation of the Smart ATM machine

You need an electric socket, a bit of space, an internet connection and you are good to go. The installation itself comes as a part of the service. Setting up a connection with a processing server will take an hour top. Your ATM business is well- set & up & running already.

Accelerate retail growth with a Smart ATM machine powered by FinTech

Plant Smart ATM machines in various locations in different stores to grow your client base, increase your retail sales, and boost your transactional revenue. Be strategic and calculate the low, realistic, optimistic earnings outcomes for your business.  Measure the effectiveness of Smart ATM-powered locations. If needed swap locations and track the effectiveness.

Few more notes to consider before starting a Smart ATM machine business:

• Make a thorough research to find the right service provider that offers a wide range of financial services and smart solutions.
• Make sure your ATM provider considered EMV certification and successfully passed it for your ATM network.
• Be attentive to local regulations and requirements by National Banks. In the EU the regulation is quite straightforward, with no license required. Anyway, it’s always better to be on the safe side and consult with a knowledgeable party.

Which Smart ATM machine is right for my business and why GlobalCloudPayments?

With all the technological advancements, customers are more inclined to finding innovative solutions that will make their shopping experience easier. That is why upgrading and reshaping how people perceive ATM is our mission.  That is what GlobalCloudPayments, a Dutch-based FinTech company has been working on for the past years. GlobalCloudPayments is focused on providing consumers with a wide range of cutting-edge financial services by utilizing cloud & NextGen technology in its proprietary software to revamp & empower a traditional ATM business model. This becomes possible thanks to the latest technology, higher margins to Smart ATM owners while keeping all-time low operational costs.

For more info about GlobalCloudPayments visit: https://gcp.one/