A strong retail industry creates the lifeblood of an economy. Having efficient and effective technology that maximizes on opportunities is why point of sale forms a critical point in the chain of supply and demand. After production, packaging and placement, the final step – where the product is sold – is short, but needs to be seamless in order to honour the work that’s gone before it.

Point of Sale systems used to consist of a very simple procedure, essentially providing a point of payment for goods purchased. Separate to inventory, it could operate within its own silo, with manual reconciliation required for end of year/stock updates and invoices.

However things have changed dramatically – POS is no longer just a link in the system, but for many, the point on which all systems are run. Payment processing has become an industry in itself – in fact FinTech (Financial Technology), as an industry, is one of the fastest growing. A recent study by Frost & Sullivan Australia & New Zealand stated that from 2016, digital payments will have a steady revenue growth and be worth AUD1.897 billion by 2020. It’s thanks to the decentralization of payment networks with new players in the market that mean businesses will be met with plenty of new and exciting options for their business.

Creating frictionless payment experiences is still and will always be the end goal, but with added technology and the capacity for alternative payments, as well as cloud deployment allowing for back-end system integration, POS is now the most important resource in business as it holds, stores and integrates information.

So, what does this mean for the future of business and business operations?

The effects are positive – with an increase in technology, data and information handling is more efficient – for both products and the people buying them. As customisation and personalised service take preference, retailers are able to use accessible information (through surveys and eDM click throughs etc) and incorporate insight into how they co-ordinate purchasing processes.

It’s also thanks to hardware innovations that have pushed POS systems away from fixed place registers to highly accessible and transportable technology such as iPads or tablets. With payment and booking systems becoming mobile, the scope for opportunities grows too.

Fine Food Australia is excited to witness and create opportunities for some of the country’s premier payment innovation systems to share their technology with food trade & hospitality businesses. We’ve already had a taste for at Fine Food Queensland’s April 2016 show, hosting Revel Systems, Impos Payments and Idealpos Solutions. Along with them, DC Payments debuted their DC TAG, a card and contactless form of payment that’s durable enough to be surfed with!

It’s certainly a big change from the old days of clunky cash registers and manual invoicing! Fine Food Australia will certainly be the event to engage some of the industry’s most innovative and interesting payment technologies relative to the hospitality industry.