Tap to Phone – The future of digital payments our planet needs

Tap to Phone digital payments technology allows us to eliminate unnecessary manufacturing and dangers to the environment. Let’s explore how these services improve lives.

As humanity evolves, we are always looking for new ways to better serve ourselves and the planet, two goals that often go hand in hand. When the planet thrives, we all do, which is why so many services and offerings are being moved to digital formats.

Manufacturing places a unique drain on our planet and its resources, and experts have realized that the future really is digital. Tap to Phone is a software-only payment terminal on your mobile phone requiring no additional hardware that offers eco-friendly payments for users all around the globe. In this article, we will explore what makes this solution so powerful—and what this change means for our future.

What is Tap to Phone?

Tap to Phone is software that turns your Android phone into a payment terminal or software-only point of sale. This unique approach to payments allows anyone with an Android device to simply tap their phone in order to pay for products and services. Using a cellphone or tablet, payments and transactions are easy. Modern versions of this technology even offer support for tips and donations!

The environmental cost of manufacturing payment terminals

When most of us pay for something, we tend to focus on the payment itself more than the method. While it is true that more people are turning to cards and digital payments over cash payments, the fact remains that most of us simply focus on the cost itself. Unfortunately, this means that we are not thinking about the greater cost at hand.

The environment is impacted by every industry around the world, with some impacting it more than others. We know that the energy industry and single-use plastics have a huge impact, but most people don’t realize how far this reaches—or the ways that these common problems can actually impact entirely different industries, like financing and payments.

The methods that we currently use for payments are generally cash, card, and digital payments. Each of these payment types has its own environmental impacts, and these impacts might be even more significant than you think. Let’s determine how the negative impacts of payment methods are increased due to the manufacturing of traditional payment terminals.

The environmental impacts of payment terminals

Though all payment methods have their own impact on the environment, there is a greater environmental factor that connects all of the different payment types. According to SmartGreen post, an astonishing 75% of the total impact for card transactions is linked directly to payment terminals themselves. The manufacturing and retirement of these devices can use a significant amount of resources, and it is impacting the environment in a negative way.

Studies show that every single debit card transaction has a comparable environmental impact to leaving a lightbulb on for roughly an hour and a half. While that might not seem like that much, when you consider the amount of transactions that the average business faces in a day, the impact grows at an astronomical rate. These negative impacts can skyrocket, particularly for bigger businesses. This impact is largely driven by the materials involved and the amount of energy used for payment terminals.

Payment terminals require constant energy for consistent use, and that energy is a requirement 24 hours a day for businesses like grocery stores or fast food restaurants. The amount of drain depends on whether or not the terminal is kept online at all hours, which many are.

The materials involved with payment terminals can have negative impacts for two reasons. The first is the materials being used themselves, which can cause significant environmental impacts and generate pollution. These terminals are made using raw materials, which increases the overall carbon footprint of every single transaction. From creation, payment terminals are destined to impact the environment in an unfortunate way

The second concern is the way that these materials are handled at the end of their lifecycle. When payment terminals are retired from use, they are not recycled. This means that all of the materials present in the payment terminal ultimately end up in a landfill, which contributes to the growing waste problem that our planet is facing. Since these terminals are not recycled, every payment terminal is destined to have a negative environmental impact regardless of how it is used or the duration of its service.

Tap to Phone payments

Tap to Phone provides an eco-friendly solution by helping us to make payments with a device that we already have on us. Though production does go into making cellphones and the technology that is used for these payments, the production itself is offset by the simple fact that we use our phones for everything—not just payments.

What we lose with traditional payment methods

At this point, traditional payments are outdated, and countries around the world are switching to a purely digital future. Traditional payments are unpopular with the masses, with most people preferring to pay digitally or with a card rather than cash, which means that the interest in converting more fully to eco-friendly solutions is already there.

Traditional payment methods are, above all else, a loss for us. They use resources, consume energy, and lead to complications. Cash can always be lost or stolen, and cards are quickly following suit. For everyone to win, we must do better and look to the future.

What we can gain by switching to Tap to Phone payments

Tap to Phone payments offer a simple solution for payments by asking us to rely on the same devices that we use every single day for other purposes. As more technology giants create phones, tablets, and watches that support these payments, and more stores and marketplaces accept them, the need for traditional payment methods becomes obsolete.

When more people transition to Tap to Phone and other forms of digital payments across devices, it is possible to breathe a little easier. We know that our payment methods are always in our phones, devices that we never leave home without. It adds a new degree of convenience—one that improves public health by allowing us to stop physically sharing forms of currency from one person to the next.

The implications of this transition are much bigger than simple convenience and reduced risks. Paying with mobile devices can also dramatically reduce the environmental impact that the financial industry has by allowing us to use fewer materials and remove unnecessary energy drains around the world, particularly where recycling is concerned. While payment terminals are not recycled, that isn’t the case for mobile devices. Tap to Phone operates on Android phones and tablets, which are often recycled and refurbished to extend their lifecycles. This adds another layer of eco-friendliness to this payment method.

How embracing Tap to Phone offers us a future-proof solution

The development of society is something that happens whether we are ready for it or not, and the transition to digital has been going on for years now. Today’s modern consumer expects that they will be able to do just about anything on their phones, and payments are no different.

Already, stores, websites, and establishments are switching to support digital payments like Tap to Phone, and we fully support this transition because we believe that it is the future. Consumers want contactless payments, and Tap to Phone makes it easy to meet this need. The customer interest is there, and businesses around the world are already beginning to adapt. This technology isn’t going away. If anything, it is becoming the new standard. Making the transition with Tap to Phone allows companies to stay ahead of the curve and future-proof their payment solutions.

Supporting eco-conscious merchants

Companies bend to meet the needs of their customers, and every single day, more consumers are becoming interested in eco-consciousness. The interest in eco-friendly options is higher than ever, and for the first time, customers are really starting to look at the environmental impacts of the businesses that they frequent. This notable change has led to a rise in interest for companies that are more eco-conscious and serve the environment. Supporting Tap to Phone and other digital payments can attract eco-conscious shoppers and provide a better experience for all shoppers at the same time.

The takeaway

Industries around the world are looking for comprehensive solutions to reduce their environmental impact, and this is one more solution that can help companies to adapt to these pressing needs. As more eco-conscious consumers explore their options, the interest in the opportunities offered by Tap to Phone and similar payment options is increasing, a trend that should be expected with each passing year. Being able to simply tap your phone to a reader in order to pay allows the freedom of avoiding contaminants and saves us from counting out change. This is a solution that can have lasting positive impacts on our comfort, our security, and our environment.

If you are interested in taking part in this initiative and trying Tap to Phone today, please do not hesitate to reach out.