Why farmers need their own payment technology | Payment sources

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and agricultural income As populations decline, more farms are looking to diversify their sources of income, and in the process are taking advantage of technology that allows them to digitally process sales and payments to new buyers in different locations.

To meet this demand, POS Nation, a payments company that targets specific industries such as groceries, hardware, alcohol, horticulture, tobacco, and lawn and garden apex, is an e-commerce technology company that sells to farmers. acquired GrazeCart.

The deal, which has been finalized, will allow POS Nation to serve a new industry and allow GrazeCart to expand its strategy of allowing farms to sell directly to consumers across multiple channels. The acquisition comes amid increased competition among payment companies that will enable diversification in the agriculture industry. The two companies have not disclosed the terms of the merger.

“We have specialty retailers like cigar stores, liquor stores, cell phone repair, etc., who don't need general payment software and want software that is specific to their industry,” said POS Nation president. said one Cort Ouzts, adding: Agriculture fits into that model.

A market exists for the bulk sale of food to consumers via digital channels. According to him, 45% of consumers consider purchasing food directly from a producer's website. Statista. A further 35% already purchase food this way. According to , there are approximately 7,000 farmers markets in the United States. US Department of Agriculture. This is up from 2,000 people in 1994, according to . Associated Press, also reports that more consumers have started using farmers markets during the pandemic.At the same time, more farms are considering replicating online farmers marketcreating opportunities for companies like POS Nation.

“Solution providers that understand industry-specific needs are more likely to customize their products rather than include a ton of extraneous functionality that the business doesn't need,” said Forrester analyst Lauren Cevallos. ” he said.

POS Nation claims that its expertise with customers in the grocery industry and the knowledge gained from the addition of GrazeCart will enable it to manage payments and e-commerce packages for farmers, especially those operating small farms. . suffer unjustly during the economic downturn.

“Many farms want to start selling directly to consumers at farmers markets and then move or expand online,” said Brooks Hitzfield, co-founder and managing director of GrazeCart.

Most of these farms are used to selling through large resellers and commodity markets, so the transition to online sales is more complicated than it seems.

“There's a transition period before we can do this directly to consumers,” Hitsfield said. “A lot of farmers don't have the tools to do that. The business systems that sell to large corporations and consumers don't work well with each other.”

While payment acceptance technologies can overlap across these audiences, certain industries have specific business needs based on how their products are sold. These factors are creating a demand for customized merchant services, Oouts said, adding that GrazeCart is bringing in experts in agricultural technology and business culture to his POS Nation staff.

“One of the things that the acquisition of GrazeCart allows us to do is integrate the in-person mobile point of sale system that we use at farmers markets with our e-commerce platform,” he said.

GrazeCart provides merchants with a customized e-commerce website. The company's other services include helping farmers price their products based on weight. This is a method designed to avoid over- or under-charging by determining prices based on the number of items purchased. GrazeCart also accepts orders for national delivery, local delivery, and farm-direct pick-up. Manage inventory, fulfillment, and create subscription programs for repeat customers.

“The consumer point of sale part was missing,” Hitzfield said. “POS Nation brings you that.”

Other companies are pursuing similar business models. Barn2Door is another digital commerce company that sells to farms. embedded stripes Built into a platform that automates digital payments for farmers. and food technology company GrubMarket Acquired Farmigo Expanding e-commerce technology for farmers in 2021.

It's also not uncommon for payment technology companies to focus on specific niches, particularly related to food sales, which have different supply chain and inventory requirements than other retail categories.For example, recently, dynamic combustion get lingamis a fintech that sells cloud-based products that power online ordering, payments, virtual kiosks, QR code menus, and other restaurant products.and toast It sells payment and other restaurant technology.

Jill Bareisis, Head of Retail Banking, says these industry-specific services are important, but they're less about payments and more about payments, from product catalogs, pricing, shopping carts, and shipping options to inventory management and loyalty programs. Everything else related to it. Pay with Celent.

“Small and medium-sized businesses prefer to work with a single provider that can provide all of these tools, and they want payments that are built in as part of the service,” Bareisis said.