Payment by smartphone: when merchants swear by the Lydia app

by time news

On the terrace of Chez Camille, place d’Aligre (12th), pints of beer and cocktails rub shoulders at the end of the sunny day. When paying the bill, Jeanne and her friends take out their bank cards, as usual. But surprise: no terminal in the hand of the waiter, who instead draws his smartphone and invites customers to pay by Lydia.

If the commissions are equivalent for Lydia and for the card payment terminal – between 0.3% and 0.6% depending on the banking solution – using the application makes it possible not to rent a credit card device. A simple download of the Lydia pro application, and you’re done.

“What’s weird is not having a choice”

On the customer side, we remain skeptical. “We didn’t expect it at all, it’s the first time I’ve seen it, is surprised Jeanne, 28 years old. We had to work it out because a friend didn’t have a Lydia account. She therefore paid in cash for her friend – always accepted in the restaurant.

To his right, his friend Theotime is also perplexed. “What’s weird is not having a choice,” said this public service executive. That they offer the Lydia service is cool and possibly practical, but it’s strange that the credit card option is not even possible. »

Above all, if Lydia is particularly appreciated by young working people, she seems less known to older customers. And even for the most connected, logistical problems can come up against payment… “And what do we do if we no longer have an Internet connection? asks Theotime.

The exclusive use of Lydia by merchants remains confidential. “This must concern a few thousand traders in France, analyzes Cyril Chiche, co-founder of the application. In total, perhaps professional transactions represent 0.3% of our turnover. »

Franck Delvau, head of the Union of trades and hotel industries (Umih) Paris-Île-de-France, agrees: “On the contrary, there are more and more transactions by bank cards. Moreover, the managers of the application do not particularly seek to develop it, even if this service was the initial project of Lydia.

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