2025 Contactless and Unmanned Payment Trends: 3 Changes in the Card Terminal Market and Response Strategies
Why Payments Have Changed These Days Touchscreen payment devices installed at convenience store checkout counters, wireless terminals placed on restau...
Why Payments Have Changed These Days
Touchscreen payment devices installed at convenience store checkout counters, wireless terminals placed on restaurant tables, self-service payment kiosks in hospital waiting rooms. While cash has been unnecessary for a long time, the payment methods themselves continue to evolve. In 2025, domestic card approval amounts reached 1,266 trillion won, a 4.7% increase from the previous year, and the contactless payment market is expanding rapidly, with PG service daily average usage amounts reaching 1,554.2 billion won, a 9.2% increase. Now that both merchants and customers must adapt to the new payment environment, we've compiled the realities and response strategies for unmanned and contactless payment trends.
Unmanned Payment Terminals Are Now Standard Equipment
Unmanned payment refers to a method where customers complete payments themselves without employee intervention. Representative examples include self-checkout at convenience stores, payment kiosks at hospitals, and table payment terminals at cafes. TheKLLink approaches this unmanned payment environment as a "phase of first defining the payment structure of the business." The key is proposing optimal unmanned payment terminals based on business type and customer flow.
* Food service/Marts: Integrated operation with Smart POS (ordering, payment, and sales management in one)
* Clinics/Hotels: Smart payment terminals (linked with simple payments, QR codes, and advertising screens)
* Small shops/Cafes: Wired desktop terminals (stable basic configuration)
Key point: Unmanned payment is a tool that reduces merchant labor costs while simultaneously automatically collecting payment data. It's not just about speeding up calculations but becomes the foundation for making sales, cancellation, and settlement flows transparent and recording customer behavior data.
New Forms of Contactless Payment: Link, QR, and Link Payments
Contactless payment is rapidly expanding not only online but also offline. The fact that PG service daily average transaction count increased by 11.8% to 33.64 million transactions demonstrates that URL, QR, and text-based payments have become commonplace. Representative examples include "link payment," where payment links are sent via Kakaotalk or text so customers can pay without installing an app, and "QR payment," where customers are directed to scan QR codes at store entrances.
* Link payment: Send payment request via Kakaotalk/text → Customer clicks link → Simple payment completion
* QR payment: Scan store or table QR code → Select menu → Complete payment
* Recurring payment (billing): Automate repeat payments for academies, subscriptions, rental fees, etc.
Key point: Contactless payment creates a direct payment link between merchant and customer, eliminating intermediate payment terminals. With contactless interaction becoming routine after COVID-19, customers prefer this method, and merchants can reduce payment terminal maintenance costs.
Payment Cost Structure: Why You Can't Just Look at Fee Rates
The payment cost burden merchants feel cannot be grasped by card fee rates alone. Hidden fixed costs including terminal rental fees, monthly management fees, maintenance costs, and communication fees must all be included to understand the actual burden. According to TheKLLink's consultation, in a store with monthly card sales of 15 million won, even if the card fee rate is 2.5%, adding terminal rental of 150,000 won and monthly management fee of 100,000 won results in an actual cost ratio of an additional 2% or more.
* Card fee: Transaction-based variable cost (usually 1.5~3%)
* Terminal rental fee: 50,000~200,000 won per month (higher for older machines)
* Monthly management fee: 50,000~150,000 won per month (basic charge outside fee)
* Communication/Maintenance: Additional 20,000~100,000 won per month
Key point: Actual cost = (Total monthly payment-related expenses ÷ Monthly card sales) × 100. Using this calculation, you can compare current conditions with competitors' conditions to judge true cost savings effects.
3 Things to Verify Within 30 Minutes Today: Current Payment Environment Check Steps
Once you understand the new payment trends, you should review your business's payment conditions. TheKLLink's proposed payment environment check process is as follows:
Organizing these 3 items within 30 minutes clarifies whether your current payment conditions are appropriate and where costs are leaking. For example, if the settlement cycle is D+3, cash flow is delayed by 3 days, but improving to same-day settlement (D+0) or next-day settlement (D+1) significantly changes capital turnover during peak seasons.
Key point: Inspection is the beginning of comparison, and without comparison, there is no savings.
Industry-Specific Payment Solution Selection: Why Not a Uniform Standard
The payment environments for cafes, academies, and hospitals are completely different. Cafes want individual payments per table, but academies require monthly recurring payment automation. Hospitals have special requirements like installment payments for non-covered services and foreign patient payments. TheKLLink proposes customized payment solutions reflecting these industry-specific characteristics.
* Cafes/Food service: Table wireless terminals, integration with cash payments, quick settlement
* Academies/Healthcare: Recurring payments (billing), contactless deposits, automatic installment payment automation
* Clinics/Hospitals: EMR integration, non-covered item management, integrated multiple payment methods
Key point: Payment solutions should be selected based on transaction patterns of the business, not sales volume.
Settlement Cycles and Cash Flow: Changes to Watch in 2025
One of the biggest changes in the 2025 payment market is settlement cycle diversification. While traditional banks previously used D+2 or D+3 as standards, fintech and PG companies are positioning same-day or next-day settlement as their competitive advantage. While reducing monthly recurring costs of 100,000 won is important, shortening settlement by one day reduces the capital turnover cycle, making peak season cash flow management much easier.
* Same-day settlement (D+0): Deposit on payment day (optimal capital turnover)
* Next-day settlement (D+1): Deposit the following day (general standard)
* D+2~D+3: Traditional banking standard (maximum 72-hour fund delay)
TheKLLink's payment environment diagnosis compares settlement cycles, equipment ownership, contract periods, auto-renewal, and early termination costs. Even with low fees, if settlement is delayed, merchants actually lose out.
Key point: 1-day settlement improvement = 30% monthly capital turnover improvement effect.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: Won't customers find it inconvenient if we install unmanned payment terminals?
A: Quite the opposite. According to 2025 surveys, customers want to reduce payment wait times. Customers are satisfied if they can pay directly through a terminal on a café table or handle deposits via self-service kiosk at a hospital. Unmanned payment simultaneously improves both customer convenience and merchant efficiency.
Q2: What's the difference between PG services and VAN services, and do we need both?
A: PG handles online payments (card, bank transfer, simple payment), while VAN handles offline card payments. For integrated online-offline stores, you may need both, but TheKLLink provides PG, VAN, and terminals as one integrated payment solution to reduce duplicate contracts.
Q3: Won't fees increase if we change to same-day settlement?
A: Settlement cycles and fee rates are separate items. TheKLLink provides same-day settlement as standard, though this varies depending on partner contract conditions. What's important is comprehensive comparison of total costs including settlement cycle, fees, and management fees.
Conclusion: Connecting Payment Trends to Cost Savings
In 2025, the payment market is rapidly changing toward automation, contactless transactions, and real-time settlement. To respond to these changes, you must not simply look for "the lowest fee place" but design a payment structure suited to your business characteristics. TheKLLink provides a free payment environment diagnosis that systematically verifies costs, settlement, contracts, and operating environments. Prepare your last 3 months' settlement statements and contracts and start verification within 30 minutes today. By identifying current hidden fixed costs and reviewing settlement cycle improvements together, you can significantly reduce monthly recurring payment costs.
For payment environment diagnosis and customized payment solutions in Seoul, consult with TheKLLink. For inquiries, contact 010-2397-5734 or jaiwshim@gmail.com.
| Item | Description | Considerations |
|------|------|----------|
| Unmanned payment implementation | Reduced labor costs, automated data collection | Initial terminal investment, customer training needed |
| Contactless/Link payment | No payment terminal needed, minimal customer contact | Internet environment essential, enhanced security management |
| Shortened settlement cycle | Improved capital turnover, easier peak season operations | Fee condition renegotiation needed, contract review required |
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