Tap-2-Pay Backup Plan
by Tom McCole
With last week’s agonizing computer systems shutdown, it should be a wake up call to merchants and payment acceptors everywhere to reevaluate their backup payment methodology. As widely published, cloud-based systems around the world were totally inoperable for many airlines, banks, brokerage houses, retailers, hotels, restaurants, schools, hospitals and governments allegedly due to a reported faulty security software upgrade. Thousands of flights were cancelled, hospitals cancelled all but emergency procedures, some schools and government offices were closed, and Times Square’s massive digital signage went semi-dark. Affected retailers with and without self-checkout lanes, as well as hospitality venues were forced to accept cash only and who carries cash anymore? Microsoft reported the outage affected 8.5 million machines worldwide.
This massive blue screen outage comes on the heels of last month’s auto dealer shut down, sadly due to a successful $25M ransomware cyberattack affecting nearly 15,000 new and used vehicle dealerships. The cyberattack began on June 19th and ended when the ransom was paid on July 5th.
Many dealers (mine included) resorted to good old reliable pen and paper for sales contracts, trade-ins, and even worse, service scheduling and billing. Dealers (mine included) were asking for cash and checks since they had no way to process payment cards as recently as July 17th indicating they were still not fully recovered. Even after the ransom was paid, the auto industry was still trying to catch up weeks later with the industry losses estimated to be $1.02B from lost vehicle sales, parts, and service.
Clearly cloud computing is here to stay since the technology offers so much benefit to enterprise clients and the world at large. That said, we just experienced two significant outage events where commerce was negatively affected. Merchants are unlikely to relinquish the multifarious value of their cloud apps despite the current threats. However, there is an obvious backup mandate to be able to collect funds for goods and services outside of their primary business management systems.
One emerging technology, tap to phone or tablet contactless payments is a viable backup solution as well as serving other daily use cases. Using MPoC, Mobile Payment on Commercial devices, i.e., any cell phone or tablet enables businesses large and small to authorize and accept card payments separate from their cloud system. The recommended devices include standard cell phones or handheld tablets on either Android or iOS operating systems. These mobile devices don’t have to sit in a drawer awaiting the next cloud outage event. They offer extended value functionality for in-store sales, deliveries, remote field services, line busting, table ordering, remote hotel check-in, and numerous other tasks. Cash is king is a remnant slogan of a bygone era except perhaps for nefarious transactions. The convenience of tap-to-pay commerce wins every time!