Picture Sarah, a freshman at your school and a member of today’s cashless society. . Between classes, she gets hungry and heads over to the on-campus pizza store to order a slice. Seconds later, instead of rummaging through her backpack for her wallet, she taps her phone on the card reader and pays for her meal with her digital wallet. Smooth, wasn’t it? Wait, there’s more. By using her mobile payment, Sarah has not only skipped a line, but also collected points in her digital account.
But it’s not only Sarah that’s benefiting from this mobile transaction – your school’s pizza store also benefits by increasing operational efficiencies, shorter lines and of course, improving the overall customer experience. A total win-win situation, right? But the only question is, are the schools prepared to embrace this shift?
Research shows that today’s students do most things without even touching their wallet. With a single tap, they shop, order food, buy books and transfer money. When it comes to cash, most students don’t even bother with it. According to a 2020 report by FIS, nearly half of Canadian 18-to-23-year-olds use digital wallets to pay for purchases.
In 2021, the global payment market size was valued at $1.97 trillion and is projected to reach $11.83 trillion by 2028 at a CAGR of 29.1%. According to the Diary of Consumer Payment Choice, cash payments represented only 19% of all transactions in the US in 2020, which was 7 percentage points down from 2019. For Canadians, Moneris Solutions Corporation predicted that by 2030, cash purchases will make up only 10 per cent of money spent in Canada.
When students were asked about their preferred form of payment, 70 per cent say they are willing to move away from cash in favor of other forms of payment. However, with rapid growth of the FinTech industry, younger generations not only want convenience, but a holistic approach to money. According to Payments Canada’s Payment Pulse Survey, 77% are interested in a web dashboard that combines all of their financial data to better track spending. Research done by Accenture also suggests that more than 70 percent of Gen Z are interested in AI-enabled tools to assist them in saving money and optimize rewards by managing payments, bill payment and expenses.
Unfortunately, despite such a huge growth potential, the current infrastructure of most schools doesn’t allow them to embrace the mobile payment trend. They are under-utilizing one of their most important forms of branding – student ID cards. These cards are capable of doing much more than just opening doors and printing papers. They are capable of future-proofing the entire school experience.
Introducing payd, the all-in-one digital student card app that combines your school’s services with smart-savings – card-linking technology. Our agnostic app allows students to go beyond making purchases with their IDs; with just one tap, they can earn cashbacks, loyalty points and redeem exclusive offers from their favorite on and off-campus merchants. The user-friendly in-app dashboard will help students budget effectively and save money effortlessly.
Businesses on the other hand, can provide students with the convenience and perks of shopping with them and create a more robust customer experience. This will ultimately drive much larger baskets and boost their bottom lines.
Lastly, a word to the wise: The trend of mobile payment is likely to go upwards in the near future and it’s never too late to embrace the change and add value to your students’ experience.
So, are you ready to look at your student cards differently? Connect with a payd representative today for a LIVE Demo.
