John Granby, Director of eTruck & Van, EO Charging and Erik Kanerva, Sales Director at Kempower

Auto electrification is moving at a rapid pace, with electric vehicles (EVs) going from a passion project for early technology adopters to the mainstream – especially when you consider the need to electrify consumer and commercial vehicles ahead of the government’s 2035 Zero Emission Vehicle mandate.

Electrification is also starting to play a vital role in public policy and commercial plans, leading to vehicle availability and a variety of improvements and increasing interest among commercial fleets’ prospective customers. As a result, all of the main car and van manufacturers have a respectable EV offering, and the eBus industry is well on its way to proposing a similarly credible offering for citizens.

Heavy-duty vehicle electrification has progressed slowly, but the pace has picked up over the last year, with several of the major truck manufacturers testing completely electric heavy trucks that are now near-ready to enter the general market.

This is a critical shift in the move towards net zero, given that heavy commercial vehicles account for around 25% of CO2 emissions from road transport emissions in the EU and approximately 6% of the region’s overall emissions. It’s a similar situation in the US, where medium and heavy-duty trucks account for around 29% of total road transport emissions or approximately 7% of the country’s total but make up fewer than 5% of all vehicles on the road.

Having clear goals and objectives in place for fleet electrification will be vital to ensuring the transport sector is on track. For example, Scania’s goal is that 50% of all vehicles it sells annually by 2030 will be electric. Despite Scania being the slowest into the market with battery electric vehicles, other vehicle manufacturers are following the same target, with Volvo Trucks setting itself a target for 50% fully electric vehicles by 2030 and the same with Renault, for example.

Meeting this ambitious goal will require the appropriate charging infrastructure in place so customers have the confidence to invest in the large-scale electrification of their fleets. That is one of the reasons why charging system manufacturer Kempower expects the commercial vehicle DC charging market in Europe and North America to have a 37% compound annual growth rate until 2030.

Trucks require substantial battery packs to provide a similar range as traditional engines, and having the right infrastructure in place to keep them regularly charged is certainly a key factor to consider when electrifying truck fleets. According to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), trucks will require up to 279,000 charging outlets by 2030, with 84% located in fleet hubs. By 2030, buses will require up to 56,000 charging outlets, with fleet hubs accounting for 92% of the total.

The Charging Interface Initiative (CharIN) is a global organisation that has been working on a standard for the rapid charging of trucks for several years. CharIN developed the Megawatt Charging System (MCS) concept, which serves as the foundation for the ISO and IEC standards which govern the design, installation, and operation of truck fast charging infrastructures.

The MCS is intended to standardise the quick delivery of enormous amounts of charging power to vehicles and provide stronger communication, which minimises downtime caused by unsuccessful charging events.

Customers who drive commercial vehicles follow particular driving habits. By taking advantage of the required break time from the hours-of-service restrictions governing their drivers, customers can travel further each day thanks to the increased charge rate that MCS offers. Better electrification of commercial cars is made possible by legislation that mandates that drivers take rest breaks. As a result, shorter charging durations to accommodate these breaks are beneficial.

The MCS will operate at up to 3,000A and 1,25 KV at its final development stage, delivering up to 3,75 MW of power when charging. With the backing of a significant segment of the industry, MCS is founded on an international consensus on technical standards. An internationally recognised standard is essential to promote harmonised solutions that reduce costs and boost interoperability without sacrificing safety and uptime.

Trucks on the highway are a key focus of the MCS, not only depot pricing. Large truck units operating long-haul routes and some smaller rigid trucks operating cross-border short-haul deliveries—such as logistics organisations operating deliveries between the United Kingdom and continental Europe—pay particular attention to this issue.

Most MCS charging occurs while drivers take breaks from their routes, but some depots may have a single MCS charger on site to do a flash charge if a truck needs to be turned around quickly. In order to balance this unit’s demand against other chargers on site, load management is crucial because it will require a power supply of at least 1 MW+.

Fleet operators should look to consider incorporating MCS into their whole charging ecosystem and solutions, regardless of whether they are thinking about how electrification will affect their fleet of vehicles on the road or how their depots will operate.

Adopting cutting-edge energy management technology solutions will enable effective fleet electrification, particularly at depots. Investing in effective load management technologies will be critical to maximising existing grid infrastructure capacity while decreasing the need for additional investments in generation or distribution capacity.

Investing in and deploying effective energy management technologies is the key to a smoother, more efficient shift for commercial fleet operators. They are critical in lowering energy expenses, both economically and environmentally.

Energy management solutions for charging electric fleets will also help maximise existing grid capacity, reducing the need to invest in new generation or distribution capacity. This will be an essential factor for fleet managers to consider as eTruck fleets expand and other commercial vehicle fleets, such as buses, increase demands on infrastructure.

With unprecedented energy and investment going into electrification, 2024 looks to be a pivotal year for picking up the momentum of progress around MCS in the logistics sector. If done right, it will create a shift of optimism in the market to accelerate the electrification of commercial fleets and promises to positively impact other sectors, such as marine and aviation, contributing significantly to reducing carbon emissions.

Attributed to: Samina Hussain-Letch, Executive Director, Square UK

The entrepreneurial beauty and personal care sector in Britain amounts to a whopping 36 billion pounds, but the pressure of manual labour endured by business owners is an obstacle for converting revenue and growth.

Our recent industry study highlights that nearly half (43%) of British barbers, spas, nail salons, personal trainers, tattoo parlours, and piercing studios are not using digital platforms or tools to automate bookings, ultimately losing over a full working day each week to administrative tasks alone. This equates to approximately two months lost per year, to manual admin tasks for beauty and personal care businesses.

We’ve listed three ways beauty and personal care businesses can gain back revenue ahead of summer:

• Detoxing manual admin

Admin tasks are the equivalent to Pandora’s box for beauty and personal care businesses. The tasks may constitute using paper diaries to schedule appointments, manually rescheduling appointments, or taking bookings and sending reminders by message or phone call.

These seemingly minor chores can be a large time drain for businesses that rely on manual processes. The research found filing down time between client appointments to be one of the most difficult challenges, with 39% of the sector facing this over the last year, alone.

Businesses should identify how they could set timings to the specific duration of each service and still build in cleaning time after the appointment. Digital tools like an appointment booking software play a crucial role. By automating manual admin, owners can offer bookings with a wide booking window, allowing them to spend devoted time on each customer, resulting in the allowance to foster a loyal relationship that will keep them coming back, while giving their workforce time to clean up after the appointment.

• Tapping into the power of technology

The solution here may sound simple, but business owners should again lean on technology to transform manual labour.

With time back, salons can give their workforce time to speak to customers on what other services they can offer to expand business offerings.

With the integration of tech tools for beauty and personal care businesses, nearly half (48%) of business owners would like staff to treat themselves to finishing work on time, while identifying new training for their team. Adopting a technology solution can unlock efficient management for businesses as appointments can be booked online and reminders can be sent using the software.

With the research showing that 42% of consumers want to book appointments on the weekend or after hours, working with the software promises ease for customers that are looking to make reservations after businesses are closed for the day.  But how can beauty and personal care business owners look to drive up their revenue when switching to an appointment software?

• Driving up the revenue road

Our research also highlighted that only 1 in 5 of beauty and personal care businesses are automating marketing campaigns or inventory management. This sheds light that not all beauty and personal care businesses are optimising their toolset.

The time gained back from using automated appointment software allows businesses to think more strategically about marketing and pricing. Integration of an automated software readily links up with an online store that allows salons to not only manage inventory more effectively, but offer new products to clients on different channels of their choice.

With new offerings, businesses have extra opportunities and routes to drive up revenue. Selling products online is a sure-fire way of creating new business, as well as keeping their back end organised and offering consumers more options when it comes to buying products that are used within or after their appointment – as take home collateral.

Having an automated booking software for beauty and personal care businesses is a great way to unlock further revenue, train a workforce with time back, spend more time connecting with clientele and ensuring the business is driving bookings even while the salon is closed. It’s a win-win situation that will position businesses for success this year. Because as we all know, a business is only as successful as their customer satisfaction.

Source: Finance Derivative

By Delia Pedersoli, COO, MultiPay Global Solutions

In the ever-evolving landscape of retail, one trend stands out: the meteoric rise of alternative payment methods (APMs). In recent years, alternative payment methods (APMs) have surged in popularity, constituting nearly 5% of all UK transactions, according to the 2023 BRC Payments Survey.

Among these APMs, Pay By Bank is quickly emerging as a frontrunner, poised to revolutionise the entire payment experience. As consumers increasingly prioritise mobile payments and convenience, the attraction of Pay By Bank gains momentum, reshaping how we choose to shop and make transactions. Notably, UK Finance expects that remote banking payments processed via Faster Payments Service or cleared in-house are projected to rise to £5.7 billion by 2031, nearly doubling from current figures.

Requiring no additional downloads for the customer, Pay By Bank works by users simply selecting the option on the payment device at checkout to scan a uniquely generated QR code that automatically opens their mobile banking app to authorise the transaction. Once approved, funds instantly transfer from the customer’s bank account to the merchant.

A Win-Win For Customers And Merchants

With the rise of today’s ‘zero consumers’ – one that has zero boundaries between the channels they use to shop, zero loyalty to any particular brand and zero patience for bad service and experience – the ability for Pay By Bank to cater to these demands will only help retailers stand in good stead with shoppers. Without needing to go via a third-party app, shoppers can quickly and easy checkout in store by simply using their smartphone to bypass entering their card details or navigating cumbersome checkout procedures.

However, for the retailer, the advantages of Pay By Bank are even more compelling:

• Significant cost savings – by removing interchange and scheme fees, retailers pay minimal transaction costs every time Pay By Bank is used compared to credit and debit cards. These savings can either be taken as additional profit, used to drive growth elsewhere in the business or improve other aspects of operations and customer experience.
• Speed and accuracy – in today’s economy, it’s reassuring for retailers to have accurate and real-time visibility of revenue, with quicker access to reserves if its needed. With Pay By Bank, payments and refunds can flow seamlessly and almost simultaneously from the customer’s account to that of the retailer. With funds instantly transferred from the customer to the merchant, Pay By Bank also minimises exposure to fraud.
• Boosting loyalty – according to McKinsey, the rate of brand switching among consumers doubled from one-third in 2020 to half in 2022, with approximately 90% saying they’ll continue to do so in the future. This spells trouble for retailers. However, the streamlined process of Pay By Bank not only helps foster positive brand perception – combatting the ‘zero consumer’ trend – but also enables retailers to enhance customer understanding by integrating data insights into loyalty programs. Additionally, by consolidating payments from both in-store and online transactions, retailers can discern specific customer behaviours and preferences to tailor promotions.

Clearly, Pay By Bank serves as a multifaceted solution that not only meets the immediate requirements of retailers today but also lays the groundwork for future advancements in retail payment experiences. Choosing to collaborate with a technology partner able to build tailored payment solutions that can seamlessly integrate with existing systems provides merchants with a strategic advantage. Not only does it eliminate the need for substantial investments in new hardware or devices but ensures they can remain receptive to ongoing innovations within this dynamic landscape.

Where Is Pay By Bank Already Seeing Traction?

The rapid adoption of instant payments schemes such as Pay By Bank is already well underway in many parts of the world. In Europe, Sweden’s Swish platform stands out as a clear trailblazer that boasts over 8 million users processing an average of 10.21 transactions per customer in May 2023. Initially launched in 2012 as a peer-to-peer (P2P) mobile payment solution, Swish has since evolved to incorporate business transactions (P2B) and has now firmly embedded itself within Swedish payment culture.

As is evident from its early adoption, Pay by Bank presents an exciting and compelling opportunity for retailers to both supercharge customer experience and profits. In the not-too-distant future, the ability to make payments with such ease will be expected as standard by consumers. Those retailers who don’t prepare now will likely lose out. Staying one step ahead, especially in today’s economic climate, must be a priority.