Today, brands are built around customer retention and brand recognition. Digital Loyalty programs are part of the brand experience and the value-added service that goes beyond paying for a product or service. Designed with the consumer in mind, these programs make sure loyal customers are well taken care of and rewarded for their commitment to the brand. Also, many companies are investing in new technologies to make their rewards systems more effective, stand out from others and attract more customers.
A lot of digital loyalty programs these days have mobile apps that increase customer engagement through its easy-to-use user interface. For example, Starbucks has a mobile app that rewards customers with star points that they can accumulate and redeem for a free coffee or pastry on their next visit. This serves to improve the customer experience because you can conveniently pay for a product and redeem rewards from the same app.
Digital Loyalty Programs for the Modern Age
From the merchant’s point of view, digital loyalty programs serve to increase customer retention and customer spend. Customers want convenience, benefits and security when they’re purchasing a product or service. Therefore, many brands are partnering with Apple and Google to create secure digital loyalty platforms for a more convenient and engaging loyalty environment, as well as a more positive brand experience.
Many people have heard of Apple Pay and Google Pay – you could be using them right now for contactless transactions. However, few of us know about Apple VAS and Google Pay Smart Tap, the technologies that make it possible for brands to make loyalty cards become a part of the customer’s digital wallet. Both Apple and Google are expanding their mobile wallet offering, to not only enable mobile payments, but also to manage digital loyalty programs for both the merchant and consumer. Both Apple and Google leverage the NFC technology native to their mobile phones to convey payment and loyalty data stored in the mobile wallet. Apple VAS and Google Pay Smart Tap are loyalty platforms based on secure data exchange with encrypted information, which serves to elevate the loyalty experience for both merchants and customers.
Since Apple VAS and Google Pay Smart Tap is already embedded in mobile phones, customers can quickly tap-and-go at the checkout line to convey both payment and loyalty in a single transaction. This solution allows merchants to cut checkout time, as well as collect information about customers’ spending habits. The data is then used to personalize promotions and discounts for customers, which merchants can then push directly to their customers’ smartphones via the NFC tap-and-pay experience. This value-added service helps to create a unique shopping experience, which in turn drives sales. For merchants who have adopted Apple VAS and Google Smart Tap, customers don’t have to worry if they’re not enrolled in the merchant’s digital loyalty program at the time of purchase. With just one tap, you can easily enroll in digital loyalty programs with existing information, such as your name, email, address, already stored in your mobile wallet.
Pioneers of Apple VAS and Google Pay Smart Tap Acceptance
With a rich history in contactless payments and over 1,000,000 contactless devices deployed, ID TECH is a leading pioneer of payment terminals that accept payment and loyalty transactions with Apple VAS and Google Pay Smart Tap. Apple Pay uses the Value-Added Services Protocol to communicate loyalty to the ID TECH NFC terminals. Similarly, Google Pay Smart Tap users can easily transfer their loyalty information, coupons, and offers to ID TECH NFC terminals with a single tap. Most importantly, ID TECH has already done the heavy lifting for merchants looking to accept loyalty cards because ID TECH devices come with a simple, easy-to-use SDK that contains the necessary API to support the use of both Apple VAS and Google Pay Smart Tap.
By incorporating Apple VAS and Google Pay Smart Tap support into its family of NFC enabled products, ID TECH has solutions for every merchant type. Ranging from traditional retail stores, to the growing mobile Point of Sale environment, payment and loyalty are accepted with ID TECH’s line of contactless solutions. Even verticals like parking, vending and transit are all examples of unattended applications where the NFC loyalty experience is being adopted.
Future of Digital Payments and Customer Loyalty
When you go through your (physical) wallet, how many loyalty cards will you find? Many of us have a stack of loyalty cards that they don’t even know existed – stamp cards, grocery rewards cards, gym membership cards, etc. Now with Apple VAS and Google Pay Smart Tap, you can carry all your cards in a digital form, store them in your mobile wallet, and use them from the convenience of your smartphone.
ID TECH, together with Apple and Google, are exploring other forms of loyalty to expand the use and benefits of the mobile wallet. For example, the transportation industry is adopting the mobile wallet and loyalty technology to enable their riders to load their airline boarding pass or subway card onto their phones for a tap-and-go entrance. No more messing around with QR codes or scrambling to find your pass in line, just tap your phone to the reader and you’re on your way!
With Apple VAS and Google Pay Smart Tap, college campuses are allowing students to load their student ID cards onto their mobile wallets. From there, students can pay for their books, food and convey their identification with a tap of the phone. Also, event organizers for sporting events and concerts are converting paper tickets to mobile tickets stored within the mobile wallet. Fans can now tap their phone to enter the venue rather than pull up a barcode or hand over a paper ticket.
While digital loyalty programs have been in existence for years, ID TECH’s contactless technology has revolutionized the customer and merchant experience for many industries. ID TECH is committed to partnering with businesses both large and small to accept digital loyalty programs and build a more loyal customer base. For more information on ID TECH contactless devices for both payment and loyalty, please visit www.idtechproducts.com or call us at (714)-761-6368.