With consumers now expecting to be able to pay through multiple channels, there is a growing demand for fast, convenient and often contactless options. SumUp co-founder Marc-Alexander Christ explains to Briony Richter how the company meets those demands
SumUp launched in 2012, and now has a global reach that stretches across 31 countries.
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Building its platform from scratch, SumUp created its unique card reader and app that allows small merchants to accept card payments anywhere. It has also developed a host of APIs and SDKs to enable it to facilitate more services and functionalities.
Speaking to CI, SumUp co-founder Marc- Alexander Christ details the benefits of using the platform. “SumUp’s service is about empowering businesses of all sizes to take payments quickly and easily,” he explains.
“The benefits of a mobile card reader are that – whether you are a taxi driver, landscape gardener or a cafe owner – taking a payment from the tap of a card, or a smartphone device, is quick and easy. This means you can focus on what makes your business unique.”
Christ continues: “Protecting our one million active users globally is always at the centre of the service we provide. SumUp has over 1,300 staff working on making sure we are at the very forefront of data protection, encryption and ensuring secure payments channels. In fact, compared with taking cash payments, card payments pose far less risk of fraud and theft.”
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By GlobalDataAs well as small businesses globally, SumUp has also turned its attention to other organisations that need support in an ever-increasing digital society. In March 2018, SumUp partnered with the Church of England to make contactless, virtual terminal, and SMS mobile payments available to over 16,000 churches, cathedrals and religious sites throughout England.
This allowed members of congregations to make quick and digital donations while at church. SumUp will support the Church of England revolutionise how they gain donations.
The Church of England now receives around £580m ($757m) in donations annually, with SumUp technology enabling it, and businesses globally, to accept payments quickly. Furthermore, over 16,000 churches involved will have access to a portable SumUp Air card reader through the Church of England’s Parish Buying portal. These can be used to take contactless payments, Apple Pay and Google Pay, as well as chip and PIN, and are capable of supporting 500 transactions without recharging.
Democratising payments
In an increasingly cashless world, businesses have to adapt quickly to ever-growing demands from consumers.
“Traditionally, introducing card acceptance to a business was expensive and bureaucratically cumbersome,” Christ notes about the challenges facing the card industry.
“Smaller merchants found the cost of acquiring and maintaining the card payment terminals prohibitive, which created an acceptance gap. While 10% of the population should be able to accept card payments, in reality only 1% does. SumUp has a vision of empowering merchants to grow through card acceptance while doing what they love. We’re on a mission to democratise payments.”
Christ continues: “The biggest disruption to the financial sector is happening right now, with the beginning of the ‘post-cash’ era. Figures from UK Finance showed that card has become the UK’s most popular payment method, over traditional bank notes, for the first time.”
As ATMs and bank branches close across the UK, consumers are increasingly choosing digital ways to pay. SumUp does not view this as a concern, necessarily, as it depends largely on how society tackles it. The key is providing education and the infrastructure for businesses seeking to accept payments in multiple ways.
The company will continue to support businesses around the world as countries transition from cash to cashless. Asked about what the future holds for SumUp, Christ states: “Countries that are still reliant on cash are dwindling – and are certainly not doing this out of convenience. Businesses actively lose out on potential customers if they’re having to go find a cashpoint nearby instead of paying for the service they want.
“Our role is to build a cost-effective, reliable infrastructure of card readers which merchants can literally carry in their pocket, to help facilitate this change in culture.”
Christ concludes: “Our key business focus remains the same, as it’s important to remember where the core of the business lies – empowering small merchants to do what they love. However, with our recent acquisitions of Shoplo and Debitoor, we’re looking to develop as a one-stop-shop for those looking for the right technology to future-proof their businesses – whether that’s bookkeeping, building an e-commerce site, or making sure they don’t miss out on a sale due to lack of technology.”
