In an interview with ETA’s Transction Trends, APG’s V.P. of Global Marketing, Stephen Bergeron discusses some industry trends, payment distruptors, and his personal cash usage

“By automating the cash management process at the point of sale and back office we are helping retailers reduce their shrink and the labor associated with counting and managing cash.”

What Industry Trends or Issues are Important to You Right Now?

Businesses are looking for ways to control labor and reduce shrink and retailers are no exception. As the minimum wage increases, retailers will look to reduces labor and optimize productivity across the enterprise. As a peripheral manufacturer of cash drawers, we recognize the need to continually find ways to stay relevant, we’ve expanded into cash management with an eye to delivering solutions that solve more of our customers’ problems. By automating the cash management process at the point of sale and back office we are helping retailers reduce their shrink and the labor associated with counting and managing cash.

What was the last thing you paid for with cash?

As you can imagine that as a cash drawer manufacturer, I keep cash in my wallet at all times. I use cash every day, whether it’s to pay for small sundry items such as gum or coffee, or as I did last night when I took my family out to dinner.

Despite payments with plastic – and, increasingly, mobile wallets – cash isn’t going away anytime soon. As of June 1st, the Federal Reserve reported $1.4 trillion in circulation. 40% of all retail transactions in the United States involve cash. For convenience stores, small retail shops and eateries that process lots of small transactions daily, it’s easy to understand why cash still rules. It’s fast, simple, direct, and gives buyers the anonymity they can’t get with plastic or electronic transactions. Cash also makes it easier to negotiate prices, and some larger stores prefer cash to avoid credit card merchant fees. Cash-handling businesses, from small corner stores to large retailers, need cash management solutions to improve the accuracy and efficiency of counting, reconciling and transporting their money. Needless to say, cash is going to be around for some time to come.

What is the biggest obstacle companies face in today’s payments disruptions?

I am not sure that there is a single biggest obstacle. We really see 2 major disruptions in the marketplace today. EMV and mobile payments for sure lead the way. The need to embrace EMV is as confusing as the process itself. Retailers are confused as to whether they need to be EMV enabled. As consumers, we don’t know if the retailer is or isn’t enabled and try the chip and the mag stripe never knowing which is appropriate. Mobile payments and mobile wallets continue to gain in popularity. The challenge for most retailers is that there are 163 mobile wallets with a couple of industry leaders. In the midst of this two-sided debate lies the use of cash. Over the last several years every significant opportunity we have been involved in lies the question, “well isn’t cash going away?” As we discussed earlier, with 1.4 trillion dollars in circulation cash isn’t going to go away in any time soon.

Transaction Trends, the official publication of ETA, is the market leader in covering the payments technology industry, delivering high-level thought leadership, new ideas, and expert insights.

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