Contactless Could Become the New Norm After Lockdown

Despite remote and contactless technology being available, most businesses and individuals didn’t adopt them. After all, none of us expected a global pandemic to strike. But now we’ve been forced into some of those changes, the pandemic could change the way we live on a more permanent basis…

Contactless payment has already taken off in several countries around the globe, mainly for its convenience. Rather than counting out change or having to enter your pin, you can simply hover your card over the reader to pay for purchases up to a certain value.

There are also contactless payment apps such as Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay, which allow you to store your card digitally and use your phone to connect to the checkout terminal.

However, there are clear hygiene benefits as well as the convenience. As one of the most frequently passed items in the world, money is a boiling pot of germs and bacteria. Keypads are no different, with various people touching them each day.

Contactless payment allows you to sidestep this, touching only your phone or card. According to reports, this technology could soon be implemented in Bermuda.

Entering and leaving buildings or rooms is another high-contact activity that happens countless times every single day. Whether it’s a door handle, entry button or a pin-restricted keypad, people have to touch them as they enter and leave. That can easily spread bacteria and transmit infections, with viruses surviving on surfaces for as long as nine days.

Fortunately, there are alternatives available. Face recognition and card-scanning systems allow you to control access without the need for contact. Alternatively, you can install no-touch entry and exit sensors if you want to eliminate the contact of pushing and pulling doors.

Contactless delivery is another trend we’ve seen take off during the coronavirus outbreak. With non-essential shops closed, lots more people have been ordering what they need online. The same is true with some restaurants, which switched to a takeaway and delivery model to keep things ticking through lockdown.

To make sure this didn’t transmit the infection, the vast majority of deliveries were contactless. Couriers would leave packages on the doorstep, allowing customers to collect them once they were at a safe distance.

While this might not be adopted wholesale post-lockdown, it does highlight some convenience benefits. With the right technology in place, you no longer need to rush to your front door to collect deliveries.

Using video doorbells, for instance, you can speak to the courier and tell them where to leave your package. Then collect it once you’ve got a minute, or when you get home if you’re out and about.

If you want to adapt your home or commercial premises to the new norm of contactless, speak to Selectron’s security experts. We have installed countless contactless systems across Bermuda, most recently adding no touch exit switches at the Washington Mall in Hamilton.

Whether it’s a video doorbell to make deliveries easier and safer or access control tailored to your needs, we’ll find the right solution and install it without any hassle.