THE MIDLANDS LONDON
UK BLACK BUSINESS GUIDE 2021-22
New Ways to Pay Help Small Businesses Adapt to New Normal
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s our communities and economies begin to recover and reopen, business owners throughout the UK are adapting to new ways of interacting with their customers. As is the case with many businesses in the UK, the Covid-19 pandemic was hard on Jemmys Catering, which specialises in Nigerian, West African and Afro-Caribbean catering and takeaway food. With social gatherings banned or attendance limited, income for the catering business plummeted. Husband-and-wife owners
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from Fiserv played an important role in helping Jemmys Catering make this pivot. Clover allows businesses to create convenient, cashless and contact-free payment experiences for their customers. Customers can pay using a debit or credit card; or via Apple Pay, Google Pay or Samsung Pay; with the option of receiving digital receipts. Businesses with Clover can also allow customers to pay with cash. The handheld Clover Flex enables businesses to accept payments anywhere, including at the curb for takeaway or online orders. “Clover is more than just a cash payment machine. At the end of every day, and every month, we can review every transaction, which helps us identify trends in our business and operate more efficiently,” said Lanre. “Clover enabled a seamless transition for our business.” While many businesses select a point-of-sale (POS) system with payments in mind, modern-day systems, like Clover, are capable of much more. It has enabled business owners to create new streams of revenue while strengthening customer relationships during the pandemic and beyond. Businesses can expand their platform’s functionality with extra features that allow them to do everything from schedule staff rotas and handle payroll to managing inventory, often through industry-specific Apps that can be downloaded right onto the device. “Small businesses are the foundation of the UK economy, because there are so many of us and we are so closely connected with family and community,” said Bunmi. In the UK alone there are 5.9 million small and medium-sized businesses. These businesses are the heart and soul of where we live and work, with owners like Bunmi and Lanre treating us like family and welcoming us by name into their specialty restaurants, boutiques, music stores, beauty salons and coffee shops. As our communities and economies reopen across the UK, technology like Clover is playing a strategic role in reshaping consumer experiences and helping small business owners transition from survive to thrive. n
Small businesses are the foundation of the UK economy
Bunmi and Olanrewaju (Lanre) Tawose had just moved into a bigger location in Basildon , Essex, three months before the pandemic hit and decided they had to adapt to keep the business afloat. “We realised quickly that we needed to build Jemmys Catering into a stronger takeaway business, so we converted our office into a larger area for takeaway orders,” said Lanre. “That decision helped our business survive.” The Clover® point-of-sale and business management platform
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The Voice readers can apply for a £10,000 Back2Business grant from Fiserv, which can include Clover technology, at the request of the grantee. Apply at aeoworks.org/fiservuk.
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