POS and Retail

Amid the disruption of the coronavirus pandemic, many companies are taking a chance on innovative new technologies to keep their customers engaged.

Drive-thru is almost synonymous with fast food, but for some quick-serve chains — like Subway — a past emphasis on in-store dining meant a much sharper pivot when the coronavirus pandemic struck.

Even continues its expansion into the health care vertical with the signing.

Riding a technology wave that helps attract more customers and generate more revenue sounds appealing enough — but with contactless payments, there isn't always a clear upgrade path for stores that have relied on older terminals.

EMV specifications body EMVCo has started a pilot program to evaluate consumer mobile devices for contactless payment acceptance, enabling vendors to have smartphones and tablets evaluated for possible use by merchants to accept payments without attached card readers.

Connected devices have become a popular way for retailers to mitigate human contact, turning forward-looking projects into near-term necessities. To keep this transition on track, NCR is using Microsoft's cloud.

With travel spending still largely sidelined by the coronavirus pandemic, Amazon is looking to harness more of the spending that small and medium-sized businesses are focused on for recovery.

Longtime finance entrepreneur Jackie Reses, who led Square Capital for the last five years, is leaving the company at the end of the month. Square has not yet named a successor.

The optometrist Benjamin Thayil offers an alternative form of financing for consumers who may be wary of large credit card bills or shocked at the idea of paying for an entire eye treatment all at once.

The COVID-19 pandemic was a clear incentive for advancing contactless and digital payment technology — but the systems merchants put in place today could create new problems down the road.