Payment terminals: interactive kiosk business plan

In addition to significant initial investments in the creation of their own network of payment terminals, many entrepreneurs are stopped by the lack of information on organizational and technical issues. It takes quite a lot of time to decide which terminal of which manufacturer to choose, what criteria to follow when choosing, which payment system to connect to, what software to use, what to prefer, a ready-made solution from a company or your own development, how to choose a place for installation terminal, how much will the terminal be in demand, what is the taxation scheme for this type of business, what are the probable payback periods for the terminal?

Since ordinary touch kiosks “learned” to accept payments, their popularity has been growing every day. Now you can already count more than ten large payment networks and hundreds of small and medium ones. According to the results of a survey conducted by Kiosks.ru and according to information received from other sources, the number of payment terminals at the main participants in this market is:

“OSMP” – about 1200 terminals
“Eleksnet” – about 1000 terminals
“Parnet” – more than 400 terminals
“Shtrikh-M” – about 300 terminals
“Instantly” – about 300
“Auto-pay” terminals – 250
“Multi-Kassa” terminals – 206
“E-transfer” terminals – 161
“Platform” terminals – about 80
“Unikassa” terminals – about 60
“Regional Information Payment System” terminals – 60 terminals

The space free from the presence of “payment giants” is occupied by many small and medium-sized entrepreneurs with networks of 2 to 10 payment terminals.

During 2005 and early 2006, approximately 8,000 payment terminals were installed in the country, and their share in the total number of interactive kiosks reached 40%. However, accepting payments through payment machines can still be considered a new business. The increased interest in it is caused, first of all, by the opportunity to receive direct monetary profit from the use of payment terminals. Unlike an information kiosk, which only indirectly affects the income of an enterprise by improving the quality of service and offering additional services to customers, each payment machine, if the business is properly organized, can bring an average of 380,000 rubles of net profit per year.

The benefits of introducing payment terminals are undeniable. The subscriber receives a convenient opportunity to pay bills from different service providers in one terminal anywhere in the city at any time of the day with maximum speed and guaranteed quality. The owner of the terminal receives income in the amount of 3-5% of the amount of payments made and remuneration from the operators in whose favor he accepts payments. Terminals for accepting payments are convenient for him because they do not take up much space, do not require the constant presence of personnel, and reduce costs for organizing jobs and wages for cashiers.

Who benefits?

Acceptance of payments can be positioned as an additional business or as a modernization of the main one. In the first case, an entrepreneur, for example, the owner of a chain of stores, installs payment terminals in his outlets. At the same time, he will not only receive cash income from the terminals, but will also increase sales by increasing the number of customers attracted by the new service. The store owner saves on the payment for renting a place for the terminal, since it is located on its own sales area, and does not bear the cost of collecting the terminal, since it can be carried out by a store employee.

In the second case, if the introduction of a network of payment terminals is considered as a modernization of the main business for accepting payments, the owner of the network is a dealer of mobile operators. The use of payment kiosks instead of the usual payment points will give a decent savings on the rent for the premises and on the salaries of the cashiers who accept payments. In this case, a payment kiosk is also convenient in that it will eliminate problems associated with personnel: errors in making payments, vacations, and illnesses.

The deployment of a network of payment terminals by a service provider, such as a mobile operator, can be considered as a third option for doing this business. It appears to be more effective than those listed above. The owner of the terminal network does not pay interest to the payment system and the bank for making a payment from one account to another, as it accepts payments through its own payment system and to its own account. In addition, the introduction of a network of payment kiosks will allow the service provider to reduce the maintenance staff and offer its customers a more convenient payment for services. At the same time, the service provider can afford not to charge the client for the use of the payment terminal, as dealers do, whose income consists mainly of commissions received from the user.

Where to begin?

According to rough estimates, the minimum cost of an “entrance ticket” to the payment business ranges from $10,000 to $30,000. It consists of the cost of terminals (1-2 for starters), the amount of working capital on a deposit account, the advertising company.

Below is a simplified procedure for organizing this business, starting with the acquisition of a payment terminal and ending with cash settlements with operators, a payment system and a bank.

The entrepreneur (hereinafter referred to as the owner of the terminal) acquires the terminal and concludes an agreement with the organizer of the payment system.
The owner of the terminal installs a payment machine on his own or on a rented area, assigns a commission percentage from each payment made (for example, 1.5-3%) or a fixed amount (7-10 rubles).
The organizer of the payment system opens a separate personal account (deposit) for the owner of the terminal.
The owner of the terminal makes an advance payment of any size to this account and gets access to the information system of the organizer of the payment system to control the status of the deposit and current operations on the terminal.
Within the amount deposited on the account opened for him, the owner of the terminal can accept payments from the population. When the subscriber pays for the service, information about the payment made through the terminal is sent to the server of the organizer of the payment system. From the personal account of the owner of the terminal, the amount of this payment is automatically withdrawn and transferred to the account of the payee (service provider).
The terminal owner regularly checks the balance on the personal account and replenishes the deposit as necessary. You can replenish it from the funds received after the collection of payment terminals. When recalculating and crediting funds to the account, the bank withholds approximately 0.1-0.15% of the accepted amount.
The terminal owner receives a commission from each payment, and according to the results of the month – an additional remuneration from service providers.
From the income of the terminal owner, the organizer of the payment system deducts commissions for making payments (this is not true for all payment systems).
From his income, the owner of the terminal pays tax to the state. It is not the amount of turnover that is taxed, but the profit received from the payment terminal.

Rice. 1 Scheme of the system for accepting payments using terminals.

The client deposits money into the payment terminal and receives a check.
Information about the payment is transmitted to the server of the payment system.
The payment amount is automatically withdrawn from the terminal owner’s account and transferred to the service provider.
The terminal owner receives commissions from the client and remuneration from the service provider.

Obviously, there are no unambiguous answers to many of these questions, and the future owner of the network will have to independently collect and analyze all available information. In this article, he will find review materials intended for a general acquaintance with this type of business. The recommendations below do not claim to be absolute fidelity and universality, but should serve as a reason for reflection.

Choosing a payment terminal

The purchase of a payment terminal is the most costly part of this business. Currently, the price of terminals ranges from $2,400 to $9,000. Trying to minimize initial investments, an entrepreneur can choose an inexpensive terminal. But as practice shows, at a low price, you can only purchase a terminal in a minimal configuration. In the future, it will be necessary to invest additional funds in retrofitting the terminal, for example, a bill acceptor with a larger stacker, a watchdog timer, and a more reliable printer. Therefore, when choosing, it is important to determine which terminal configuration will be optimal for performing the tasks in each particular case.

To reduce the cost of cashing a payment terminal, it makes sense to choose a bill acceptor with a stacker for 1500 bills. The terminal must be equipped with a watchdog timer so that in the event of a technical malfunction, it can be quickly detected and eliminated. Particular attention should be paid to the receipt printer. It is better to choose a printer from a well-known manufacturer, reliable and durable, as mechanics wear out quickly in simple models. The printer must be designed for a large roll of paper (150 mm). This will allow you to change it less frequently and reduce the chance that the printer will run out of paper until the next replacement.

Another necessary condition is that any part of the payment machine should be easily accessible for servicing, so that it is not required to completely disassemble the terminal for repair or replacement of components. All parts of the machine should be easy to remove and detach in case you have to replace any of them. The case of the payment terminal must be made soundly and protected from intruders.

All components of the payment terminal must be of a well-known brand, tested in real operation on a large number of machines.

An important characteristic of the terminal and an indicator of the conscientiousness of its manufacturer is the period of warranty service. A short period of warranty service may mean that the components installed in the terminal are unreliable and will soon fail.

Choosing a payment system

Choosing the right payment system when building a network of payment terminals is half the battle. It is the payment system that determines the list of service providers available for payment, the amount of commission received from them, and the stability of the service. The main participants in the Russian market of payment systems – “Cyberplat”, “E-port”, “OSMP” – are companies with a large turnover and wide geographical coverage. To connect to the processing of these payment systems, there are several integrated solutions. A complex solution is a system consisting of a payment terminal and special software. The right choice of a comprehensive solution is the second half of success.

Software selection

An important component of the complex solution is the software for the network of payment terminals. A touchscreen kiosk without special software is like a pot without honey from the Winnie the Pooh cartoon. That is, in itself, it is also of value, but only as a container for honey. That is why many kiosk manufacturers offer not only equipment but also ready-made solutions, including special software that corresponds to the purpose of the kiosk.

Currently, ready-made software and hardware solutions for accepting payments through instant payment terminals are supplied by OSMP, AUTO-PAY, SFOUR, ASPB (trademark Delta Key), Grotesk (a network of kiosks ” Instantly”), “Electropay”, “ROC”, “Shtrikh-M”. Some of these companies provide customers with the opportunity to test their software before buying. Demo versions of programs with detailed manuals are available for ASPB, OSMP, SFOUR, and ROC payment solutions.

From the point of view of the future owner of the terminal network, the choice of a comprehensive solution is the most convenient, since in this case, he receives a ready-made tool for accepting payments, which can be operated immediately after installation. If for some reason none of the complex solutions is suitable, then when choosing software, preference is usually given to software solutions offered by payment systems.

If the owner of the terminal network needs simultaneous work with several payment systems, a personalized interface, the connection of specific equipment, or connection of individual payment recipients not supported by payment systems, then he can order the necessary software for this, or pay for the improvement of the existing one.

Both in the case of choosing a comprehensive solution, and in the case of choosing a separate software product, when evaluating software for managing a network of payment terminals, you should pay attention to its functionality, stability of its operation, interaction with the selected payment system, the number of installations on existing terminals, and the convenience of the interface. , the ability to adapt to the requirements of the owner of payment terminals. Based on information materials, you can only get a general idea of the functions of the software, which are the same for many software solutions. The most correct approach to choosing payment software involves viewing it on a working terminal, analyzing feedback from customers already using it, recommendations from payment systems, and independently testing a demo version if it is provided by the developer.

A place under the sun

As a rule, the prospects of a location for placing a terminal are assessed long before choosing a payment solution. At the same time, not only the attendance of this place is taken into account, but also the solvency of the public that happens there. The most successful is the placement of payment terminals in supermarkets, shopping centers, shops in sleeping areas, universities, metro.

An interesting technique is used to place the terminals of the “Platform” network. In addition to the generally accepted model, which is based on the principles of installing terminals in crowded places, a targeted placement program is used. Terminals are installed along the route of potential customers from their place of residence to their place of work or study. This placement model allows you to reduce the time spent by customers on paying for services.

Currently, entrepreneurs, one way or another involved in the payment business, are discussing the degree of saturation of the market for payment terminals in Moscow. According to some, all the most profitable places in the capital are already taken. Others believe that offering subscribers more favorable terms or new services can drive out competitors. An example is grocery stores located nearby, each of which has its own customers. According to others, the placement of terminals should be entrusted to people who deal with this professionally, the so-called locators.

In the context of this discussion, I would like to note that in addition to the capital, there is also a regional market, which is practically not mastered. In the regions, the payback periods for terminals are more extended, and therefore it is necessary to count on longer depreciation of equipment.

How much will it cost Papa Dosset?

Perhaps the most important issue for the owner of a network of terminals is the issue of payback. Due to the large number of factors affecting the performance of the terminal, it is possible to calculate the payback period only approximately. In each case, the indicators will differ from the average and the estimated time will be different. Therefore, the calculation scheme below is only a template with conditional values that can be replaced by real ones to calculate the actual payback periods.

One-time expenses:

The cost of the terminal, including software and connection to the payment system – is from $2400 to $9000

Monthly expenses:

fee for renting a place (0.5 – 1 sq.m.) – 4000-8000 rubles / month. (depending on the attendance of the place),
communication fee (GPRS traffic) – 600-900 rubles / month. at maximum load
deductions to the payment system for making payments (not true for all payment systems),
deductions to the bank for recalculation and crediting to the account – 0.1-0.15% of the amount,
terminal maintenance costs,
collection costs,
income tax – 6% with the USNO.

Income from the payment terminal consists of:

remuneration paid by the service provider on a monthly basis and amounting to 1-3%,
fees for using the terminal, which the owner charges from customers (usually 3-5% or a fixed amount, for example, 7-10 rubles).

Suppose that the terminal receives an average of 150 payments per day, the average payment amount is 150 rubles. Taking into account the cost of the terminal, the rent for the place, maintenance costs and other expenses, it is possible to calculate the approximate payback period of the terminal.

Terminal maintenance costs:

collection – 2000 rubles. per month,
rent of a place – 5400 rubles. per month,
that maintenance (replacement of paper – 1000 rubles per month, repair of a kiosk – 2000 rubles per month, communication fee – 900 rubles per month) – 3900 rubles. per month,
deductions to the bank for recalculation and crediting to the account (with a turnover of 675,000 rubles per month) – 675 rubles. per month.

That is, monthly expenses amount to 11,975 rubles.

Income:

with an average payment amount of 150 rubles,
an average number of payments per day – 150, an
average service provider commission – 2%,
average payment for using the terminal – 3%,
the terminal brings 33,750 rubles. per month.

From this amount, the owner of the terminal pays income tax in the amount of 6% – 2,025 rubles. per month.

That is, the monthly income of the terminal is 31,725 rubles.

Subtract the maintenance costs from the amount of monthly income and get a net profit from the terminal – 19,750 rubles per month. With a terminal cost of $3,600 (about 100,000 rubles) and average performance, the terminal will pay off in 5 months. When placing terminals in places with high traffic, payback periods may be reduced.

Pitfalls of the payment business

The main unresolved issues are related to taxation and the use of fiscal registrars. At present, fiscal registrars are not installed in many terminals. Manufacturers explain this by the lack of fiscal registrars intended for use in payment terminals in the State Register of Cash Equipment, as well as the uncertainty with the opening of the register and the legal framework governing these issues. Accounting for the revenue received from such terminals is kept at the cash desk of the organization. When the terminal collects, a collection check is printed, which reflects the list of accepted payments and the amount of collection. The collector reports to the accountant of the organization with a collection check and the amount indicated in it.

Supporters of the use of fiscal registrars in payment terminals argue that after the opening of the register, owners of terminals without cash registers will be fined, referring to the law 54-FZ, according to which cash registers should be used when making cash payments. They believe that the presence of cash registers in the terminal is mandatory.

So far, there is no definite decision on this issue.

Forecasts

According to the results of a study conducted by the ROMIR Monitoring holding, the annual growth rate of the payment terminal market in Russia ranges from 30% to 80%, depending on the region. The study also showed that the most demanded services of payment terminals are payment for mobile communications, Internet access and cable TV. In 2005, the volume of payment only for mobile communication services through payment terminals amounted to $10.5 billion. Less popular so far are the services of replenishing a bank account, accepting utility bills, and paying for a fixed telephone.

The low demand for the service of receiving utility payments in payment terminals is most likely due to the lack of such an opportunity in many of them. This issue has not yet been sufficiently developed by the owners of payment networks. Soon, competition will lead them to the need to expand the list of services by adding the possibility of repaying consumer loans, paying for long-distance communications, replenishing bank accounts, booking and selling tickets, and paying for utilities.

According to experts, payment machines will be in great demand in all areas of Russian business. Work is already underway to equip gas stations and post offices with automatic payment terminals. According to analysts’ forecasts, the market of payment terminals is still far from being saturated and will show positive dynamics in the next few years.