The health emergency and the restrictions unleashed by the pandemic have been a sort of ‘digital preparation check-up’ for companiesbe they big or small. This is because “entire economic sectors and professionals, with little or no fingerprint, have been called, overnight, to update in order to become part of the digital economy“and” to stay afloat during this era of social distancing “companies” have needed even more digital tools as well as a faster onboarding process to these services “.
Faced with this situation, “a struggling to offer up-to-date services in the payments sector were mostly the large traditional service providers, who “they have struggled to cope with the rapid changes due to the health emergency. These companies have limited flexibility to launch new payment services in such a short time frame. “This is what Yannis Larios, senior vice president for Strategy at Viva Wallet, an entirely cloud-based European payment service provider operating in 17 countries including Italy.
While, he continues, “the most advanced technology-based payment service providers reacted quickly, introducing innovations in the acquisition of cards, new payment methods and digital tools, to facilitate payments for SMEs and to meet the growing demand “.
“We too – says the manager of Viva Wallet – have adopted this type of approach, and during the various lockdowns, we immediately introduced new tools. Our main goal was to help small and medium-sized businesses quickly set up their own online payment gateways for card acceptance. We have also shifted our card issuing business to ‘digital first’, and we have strengthened our presence in digital platforms that allow a ‘plug-and-play’ configuration of websites and e-commerce marketplaces. During this time, we also launched our innovative Tap-on-Phone solution for card acceptance via Android smartphones, making any mobile phone or tablet the only real tool needed for card acceptance. “
Looking at Italy, continues Larios, there is talk of a “very important and growing market for Viva Wallet“Clearly, he explains,” the pandemic has had major economic repercussions and has hit him hard. Our solutions can help Italian companies to activate cashless payments in minutes. We take care of onboarding in a completely digital way, we provide them with an Italian Iban account, and we also give them the possibility to use their smartphones to process international and local cards in a few minutes “.
In addition, he continues, “local businesses that have created an online store can also activate e-commerce payments in less than a day”, explains Larios who, again with reference to the difficulties that Italy can have in terms of digitization, adds: “Each European country has its own peculiarities, but this is never a problem when it comes to activating digital payments“because” an Android smartphone or tablet is enough to be able to accept payments anywhere “.
“The technology itself – he explains – provides alternative paths and methods, bridging any ‘digital gap’ of the past. We don’t see any obstacles preventing Italian businesses from accepting digital payments, and certainly connectivity is not an impediment from what we have experienced “, he concludes.