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I n today’s whirlwind of technological progress, our payment methods have seen a dramatic transformation. But in this fast-paced digital evolution, the hospitality industry confronts a critical challenge: making payments accessible to everyone, particularly those with visual impairments. The widespread use of touchscreen card devices in stores has unintentionally left out individuals with blindness or visual impairments, leading to frustrating and embarrassing experiences during the payment process. The emergence of buttonless touchscreen card readers in shops and small-to-medium-sized businesses has inadvertently created obstacles for those who depend on tactile buttons to input their PIN. This has created unfortunate situations where blind customers either have to reveal their confidential PIN to strangers or sadly abandon their intended purchases, significantly impacting their shopping experiences. Luckily, the realm of payment innovation is stepping up to tackle this issue head-on. Enter our "Pay at Table" device – a game-changer designed with visually impaired customers in mind. This innovative device represents a leap forward in accessible payment solutions. Built on the Axium DX8000 with Android's operating system, the Pay at Table device comes equipped with Visually Impaired Mode as standard. When activated, this mode provides an audible, step-by-step guide through the payment process. The device communicates crucial information, such as the transaction amount, the location of the PIN pad, button layouts, and guidance on entering and confirming the PIN securely. The importance of such inclusive technology cannot be overstated. Despite existing accessibility solutions, visually impaired consumers often find that retailers are unaware of these options, perpetuating the problem. It's essential for businesses to adopt these features to ensure a smooth payment experience for all customers. As the world embraces digital payment solutions, it's crucial to keep inclusivity and accessibility at the forefront of technological advancements. Our Pay at Table device exemplifies how innovation can empower individuals with diverse needs, ensuring that everyone can fully and confidently participate in the digital economy. At the heart of this innovation lies a commitment to breaking barriers and ensuring that every individual, regardless of visual ability, can engage in the modern payment landscape with confidence and independence. This is just the beginning – a step towards a more inclusive, accommodating future in the realm of digital payments. 

Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are the backbone of economies around the world. They play a crucial role in job creation, innovation, and economic growth. However, these businesses often face challenges when it comes to accessing capital and financing. This is where merchant financing steps in as a valuable solution. In this blog post, we'll explore five ways merchant financing can empower SMBs to thrive and expand. Access to Quick and Flexible Capital One of the most significant advantages of merchant financing is the speed at which businesses can access capital. Traditional loans from banks can involve lengthy approval processes, extensive paperwork, and stringent eligibility criteria. In contrast, merchant financing, often provided by alternative lenders, offers a streamlined application process with minimal documentation. Freedom with Your Funds Merchant financing empowers businesses to allocate the capital in ways that align with their specific objectives. This flexibility is a game-changer for SMBs. It allows them to make strategic decisions based on their unique circumstances. Whether it's expanding their product line, launching a new marketing campaign, renovating their storefront, hiring additional staff, or simply bolstering their working capital, merchant financing lets business owners tailor their investments to maximize growth and profitability. By being able to adapt to changing needs and seize opportunities promptly, businesses can position themselves for success in a dynamic marketplace. This level of financial autonomy can be a significant competitive advantage, enabling SMBs to respond quickly to emerging trends and customer demands, ultimately driving long-term success. Aligns with Cash Flow Merchant financing is designed to align with a business's cash flow, making it a more sustainable financing option. Rather than fixed monthly payments, repayments are tied to a percentage of daily card transactions. This means that during slow periods, businesses pay less, relieving some of the financial pressure. This flexibility ensures that business owners can manage their cash flow effectively, enabling them to meet operational expenses, make timely repayments, and maintain a healthy financial position. Suitable for Businesses with Seasonal Revenue Many SMBs, especially those in industries with seasonal demand fluctuations, struggle to find financing options that accommodate their unique revenue patterns. Merchant financing is an ideal solution for such businesses. By basing repayments on a percentage of daily sales, merchant financing can adapt to the ebb and flow of seasonal revenue. During peak seasons, businesses pay more, and during slower periods, payments decrease. This ensures that businesses can cover their expenses without straining their finances during off-peak times. Minimal Credit Score Requirements Traditional lenders often place a heavy emphasis on a business owner's credit score when assessing loan applications. For many SMBs, a less-than-perfect credit score can be a roadblock to securing financing. Merchant financing providers, however, take a broader view of a business's financial health. While credit history is still a consideration, it's not the sole determining factor. This means that businesses with lower credit scores or limited credit history may still qualify for merchant financing, offering them an opportunity to improve their financial standing. Merchant financing has emerged as a lifeline for small and medium-sized businesses, addressing many of the challenges they face when seeking capital. Its quick accessibility, lack of collateral requirements, alignment with cash flow, suitability for seasonal businesses, and minimal credit score requirements make it an attractive financing option. With the right approach, merchant financing can be a powerful tool to help SMBs grow and thrive in today's competitive business landscape.

Innovation drives progress, and in the world of technology, it is often the collaborative efforts that yield the most ground-breaking results. Here at ClearAccept, we have embarked on an exciting journey alongside our colleagues at TISSL, aiming to revolutionise the hospitality industry with our Android Pay at Table solution. This cutting-edge project has not only deepened our understanding of the industry but also allowed us to develop a product that enhances operational efficiency while prioritising exceptional customer service. Optimising Existing Journeys: One of the key aspects that sets our Android Pay at Table solution apart is its seamless integration with TISSL tills, creating a harmonious marriage of convenience and familiarity. Instead of forcing businesses to adapt to a completely new system, we have developed our solution to optimise the journeys they already have in place. By seamlessly blending with existing infrastructure, our Android Pay at Table solution ensures a smoother transition, minimising disruption and maximizing efficiency. The Power of Android: At the heart of our innovative solution lies the Android platform, a powerful and versatile operating system that surpasses other devices in terms of modernity and robustness. By harnessing the capabilities of Android hardware, we have created a platform that not only streamlines payment processes but also empowers businesses to explore new horizons. Unleashing the Potential: With Android as our foundation, we have unlocked a world of possibilities to enhance the Pay at Table experience. Unlike other devices, our solution provides unparalleled access to a range of cutting-edge features, paving the way for continuous development and evolution. From personalised customer interactions to integrated loyalty programs, our Android Pay at Table solution sets the stage for businesses to go beyond the conventional, providing a truly unique and innovative dining experience. 

ClearAccept is dedicated to providing payment solutions that meet the evolving needs of our ClearCourse software customers. We strive to develop products that will have the most significant impact on our customers' businesses, both now and in the future. This means focusing our resources on features that add value, and avoiding those that do not. To better understand our customers' unique payment requirements, we recently held our first Payments Strategy Group meeting. This was an opportunity for us to connect with our customers directly, discuss payment solutions and feature updates that are most important to them, and gain insights into their needs. At the event, we invited a small number of our customers from various ClearCourse software platforms to join us for a day of learning and sharing. The day was split into two parts. First, we had three external speakers from Mastercard, Amex, and Deko provide insights on payment trends such as Open Banking and Buy Now Pay Later, giving businesses a better understanding of what payment methods their own customers might start to expect. We then hosted an inclusive, open forum with customers from all sectors, size and roles to discuss products and updates that are on our roadmap, seeking feedback and thoughts on what was most important to them. We enjoyed getting to learn directly from customers like you, and, as well as your feedback on the product roadmap, took 3 key things away with us. Firstly, we discovered that when you give people the space and freedom to talk about interesting topics - they will, as evidenced by the engaging and thought-provoking conversations we had with our customers. Secondly, we gained valuable insights into the distinct priorities and needs that vary by sector, and our Product team's skills are instrumental in delivering value to as many customers as possible. We also learned that Buy Now Pay Later and Open Banking are rapidly expanding payment methods, and when businesses understand how they work, they can have a significant positive impact on unlocking customers and streamlining admin processes. At ClearAccept, we remain committed to developing payment solutions that are tailored to the unique needs of our customers, and we look forward to hosting future events to continue the conversation.

ClearAccept has been a hugely important part of the ClearCourse business since its launch in 2018. While at a group level, a focus has been on acquiring new software businesses with huge potential, the role of ClearAccept has been significant. As the group’s own payments platform, ClearAccept has helped those software businesses to accept payments with a future-proof solution designed especially for SMEs. In a very short space of time, we built a multi-channel payments platform that’s integrated into ClearCourse platforms across automotive, hospitality, jobs and trades, medical and aesthetics, membership, retail, sport and leisure and veterinary. Our initial branding was designed to help us get off the ground. We had a simple logo and website, which helped us to ‘get out there’ and build our products. What started as an online payment platform has quickly developed to include a wide range of card machines, an online payment solution, a virtual terminal, and pay by link – plus a top-class fraud monitoring solution. We now have more than 1000 customers and are approaching £1bn of payments flow. We’re also about to launch our class-leading integrated Android card machine with Pay at Table, and will be the first in the UK to offer the integrated Android device with a business app for software platforms and their customers. Given all of that, it was clear we needed to mature as a brand – we needed an identity to represent who we are, why we exist, what we offer, and where we’re headed.

Devon-based guitar store processes thousands of payments each year. Despite a big-name bank solution in place, a significant resource was needed to process payments. After switching to ClearAccept, Project Music gets paid more quickly, and pays less in fees. The ClearAccept solution saves Project Music a significant amount of time, too.

The use of mobile wallets is on the rise, so if you’re taking payments at a point of sale it’s important you understand them. It’s expected that globally, 1.6 billion consumers will pay by digital wallets at point-of-sale in 2023, that’s 30% of POS transactions.

Last October the contactless limit was increased from £45 to £100. This changed aimed to make paying more convenient by making it possible for more items to be paid for with the quick tap-and-pay method. Customers appear to be making use of this rise in the limit, as can be seen from a recent UK Finance report .