The Convenience of an Computer., but So Much More
Would you like some financial services with that coffee?
Convenience stores, best known to weary motorists as sources for drinks and snack chips, are starting to gain a reputation as good places to pay bills, send money and buy cellphone minutes. Automated teller machines have long been a staple in these stores, but now several major chains are installing computers that are able to do a lot more. These computers are expected to become standard in convenience stores of all sizes.
The convenience retailers want to become a bank for the unbanked, Getting all this pressure from the Wal-Mart's of the world, and they're trying to respond.
At convenience stores, companies have found the computers make business sense. If a computer is handling a prepaid cellular, monney transfer or a bill payment, And when people come in to a store deliberately to pay a bill or top-up prepaid cellular phone, they may well be tempted to pick up a soda and a sandwich. In addition, the customer gains privacy and may be able to avoid a separate trip to pay a bill.
What most companies are looking at it for is to drive new customer traffic as opposed to driving revenues from the specific service, a spokesman for the National Association of Convenience Stores, a trade group.
It is difficult to pinpoint how much extra revenue will generate in incremental food and product sales, but the idea is to get people to start changing their habits so that they shift their bill-paying or other chores to a convenience store from elsewhere.
What is very exciting is to see a brand new person come in and pay bill, top cell phone, and see how easy it is, Some of those folks may take a bus to a bill payment center, and now they find they can just go down to the corner and pay their bills. It has made their lives easier.
But it is not just people without bank accounts who use the services. — 85 percent of them paid in cash — and 55 percent of the customers do have checking accounts.
What we have seen is that the number of transactions has continued to increase and the average size of the transaction has continued to increase. That could be utility bills going up, but it might be an indication that people feel comfortable and getting instant credit for the paid bill.
Other retailers, as well as banks, have taken heed.
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