Now, more than ever, there’s a need for business owners to adapt to changing demands and move fast.

During this unprecedented time of the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries around the world, including Singapore, have imposed a lockdown on their populations. Consequently, retail and food and beverage (F&B) outlets are experiencing a decline in their in-store sales. In Singapore, the overall retail sales have dropped by 13.3 percent in March 2020, compared with the same month in the previous year.

F&B business owners are now going online and providing delivery service to adapt to the situation. They are also adopting payment technology such as card payments and PayNow to draw in more sales and make online payments possible for their customers.

A shift from cash to cashless payments

The COVID-19 situation has become a catalyst for many cafes and restaurants to accept cashless payments. On 19 April 2020, additional measures for the circuit breaker were imposed on F&B outlets to forbid customers from dining in their premises and to provide only delivery and takeaway services. As a result, many cafes and restaurants are now accepting online payment from customers who order food and drinks from home through their websites. They are also accepting cashless payment from customers who buy takeaway meals at their outlets because some news media reported that there might be risks of virus transmission through banknotes and coins. However, the risks have not been proven.

According to a 2018 report by UBS, fewer and fewer people in several Asian countries are using cash as a mode of payment over the past decade. In Singapore, cash payments make up only slightly over 40% of total transactions, while the rest of the transactions are made by cashless payments. The trend is attributed to an increasing number of people owning smartphones and credit/debit cards in this digitally literate society.

4 good reasons why F&B businesses should partner with a payment gateway

1) Maintain restaurant operations rain or shine

Accepting credit/debit cards helps restaurants maintain operations, as customers have a fast and secure method to pay for their purchases online. This means that in harsh weather conditions or during outbreaks, the business should be able to continue running online and produce a constant revenue stream.

2) Build customer loyalty

Restaurants can attract repeat customers by allowing them to save their credit/debit card information, such as card number and expiry date when making the first purchase. This provides a better user experience for the customers as they do not have to re-enter their information in future purchases. This, in turn, encourages them to order online from the same restaurants again.

3) Capture more sales with PayNow

More than 3 million Singaporeans have PayNow connected to their account. Offering PayNow is a great alternative payment option to serve those who do not have a card or simply prefer to pay through QR code.

4) Align the online and offline customer experience

The online and offline dimensions of the customer experience are equally important. They’re intrinsically connected. It’s essential that restaurants offer easy ways for customers to pay anywhere they choose to place their order. Whether the customer orders delivery through a website or pre-orders for pickup through a mobile app the experience should be the same across all channels.

Why you, as a restaurant owner, are encouraged to accept PayNow now

Besides being able to cater to customers who do not own a credit/debit card, your restaurant can also save costs as PayNow is a more economical option with lower transaction fees.

It’s also a payment option which offers great convenience for both the consumer and business owner. Business owners can accept payments through a uniquely generated QR code which contains important transaction information like the Order ID and Branch ID, while the customer can simply scan to pay through a QR code which already has the payment amount pre-filled.

Restaurants that accept PayNow can expect to reach out to a larger market as more than 3 million Singaporeans currently have PayNow tagged to their bank accounts. In fact, over S$1 billion are transacted through PayNow via the users’ preferred banking app in September 2019 alone.

If you want to start accepting PayNow and partner with a payment gateway but aren’t quite sure what to do, check out NinjaOS. NinjaOS is a commission-free online ordering system which helps restaurant owners quickly get started online. NinjaOS handles everything from website creation to integrating with POS systems or third party applications for CRM, loyalty programmes, and much more.

What’s better is that NinjaOS also facilitates integration with Omise payment gateway, which offers PayNow and card payment in one suite of developer-friendly APIs. NinjaOS caters to restaurants, cafes, grocery stores, and more. Working with NinjaOS, your business can be ready to take orders online in 10 days.

Online payments — the way forward

With online payments, restaurants can expect to have easier and cheaper operations, especially when the chips are down during the COVID-19 period. In particular, PayNow is helping to open new doors for businesses across Singapore to facilitate fast, secure and seamless digital transactions for consumers nationwide. With the support of 9 major banks in Singapore, the usage of PayNow is expected to grow continuously, which can help your restaurant business widen your reach to over 3 million people in Singapore.