In the digital age, which few have been able to avoid as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, traditional solutions are increasingly being replaced by new innovative technology products.
In the trade sector, a natural development step is digital checks, which are currently being introduced in Estonia, while Latvia and Lithuania are still preparing for it. At the same time, it is a reminder that this is an age of sustainability, where printed checks, which require endless rolls of thermal paper, countless printers and endless logistical resources to deliver it all to shops, eat up considerable natural resources. Although the public in Latvia is not yet generating demand for digital checks, it would be a valuable benefit for everyone.
Printed checks are part of a huge industry. Most data is available for the United States, where thermal paper production and trade generate about $ 4 billion annually. The environmental impact of printed receipts cannot be assessed in terms of paper alone – it is also the logistical costs of delivering the paper to shops, the fuel required, the emissions from the process, the resources used to produce printers, the cost of ink and regular maintenance, and so on. About 13% of the world’s felled trees go into paper production, but many more die to produce the fuel that makes this paper available. Meanwhile, digital checks accumulate in the merchant’s mobile app account or customer email, significantly reducing the need for resources.
An environmentally friendly solution is not the only benefit – although it could be one of the main arguments for customers who pay a lot of attention to environmental issues. Firstly, digital checks do not disappear, wrinkle or fade, which helps in cases where the buyer has to contact the manufacturer or trader regarding the quality of the product. Secondly, digital checks are easy to find and access – all you have to do is enter the name of the merchant in the search engine, and the system finds what you need. Another important aspect is the time savings in the store, because after paying for the goods, you no longer have to wait until the check is printed or, for example, the cashier replaces the check tape at the cash register. In turn, the entrepreneur can test the saying “time is money” in practice, because without printing checks, cashiers can serve more customers faster, and this is an opportunity to save on the costs of purchasing thermal paper, printers, ink and maintenance.
If everything is so great, why do we still receive printed checks in the store in Latvia? In Estonia, some merchants already offer digital checks, in Latvia and Lithuania such a possibility does not yet exist. The biggest obstacle is the technical barrier – these are specific requirements for merchant systems, as digital check data must be stored and processed differently. However, as a result of the pandemic, digitalisation has developed rapidly and the growth of e-shops has greatly facilitated the development of these systems, opening the door to new technological solutions. The second obstacle has long been the uncertainty about the requirements of state institutions for the introduction of such a system, but the movement of ice is currently being felt in this area as well, so it is expected that Latvia could soon experience growth in this direction as well. The only question remains is how successfully this solution will be implemented in Latvian society.
The history of digital checks can be traced back to 2005, when Apple began offering this opportunity to its customers. It has been 15 years, and at least in the Baltic market, digital checks are still not widely available. A study in the United States shows that one in seven Americans prefer a paper check. Meanwhile, 54% of Europeans prefer to receive a paper check, while 19% or one in five Europeans vote in favor of digital checks.
The relatively low demand is closely linked to supply, as in many parts of Europe there is no such opportunity and no relevant customer experience. Digital checks are especially popular in Scandinavia, where they are offered by many merchants and are already taking the next steps, allowing customers to view monthly spending in their apps and analyze their habits to help plan spending. As the number of merchants who also offer digital checks in other countries increases, the ability of customers to assess their benefits will increase. Until then, paper checks are a deep-rooted tradition, a habit, and a great force in the habit: just as there is no shortage of customers who still prefer to use cash, the printed check seems to many to be more understandable, more reliable, more secure. However, the biggest customer concern that still weighs in favor of physical checks is the fear of how the data will be stored. However, they can be safely dispelled, as the EU Data Protection Regulation has thoroughly addressed this issue, and companies have to comply with a set of rules on how and for how long data is stored, accessed, carefully documented and Member States should not worry about this.
Activities to achieve sustainability goals are the focus of many companies. Introducing digital checks is not the only way to save the planet’s resources. Using mobile phones to make payments has entered our daily lives and provides compact shopping – the company’s loyalty card, payment card, travel and event tickets, business applications can be used on the mobile phone at the same time, which can be used to pay for their services. . Digitization and the replacement of paper or plastic cards with information available on mobile devices is evolving rapidly, not only in the commercial sector, but also in other areas, and will only expand.
Digital checks are only part of this process, but they are a very important part of our daily lives. Especially in the grocery trade, because unlike the clothing store, where we buy maybe one shirt, the grocery basket is much bigger – 15, 20, even 30 items at a time, moreover, we go to the grocery store every week and even several times a week. But the bigger the cart, the longer the checks, and the bigger the huge environmental impact of the checks.
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