Steaming Bean Coffee Co. made a technological leap forward when it began to accept PayPal as a form of payment for coffee and its assortment of pastries.
Having been a fixture on Main Avenue for about 20 years, the shop is paving its way into the future.
Ivan Unkovskoy, shop owner, along with Nick Nayfack, director of product payment solutions at Mercury, decided to take on this experimental payment system as a project, a unique method not commonly used by retail establishments.
Steaming Bean’s new point-of-sales system, Lavu, has joined forces with PayPal, facilitating the smartphone transactions.
Steaming Bean is part of an exclusive project pilot, along with several other merchants nationwide, said Nayfack.
The coffee shop is one of few retailers in the country that has started accepting PayPal payments, Unkovskoy said.
Using PayPal on a smartphone is a paperless alternative to cash or credit. Also, customers don’t have to worry about losing their credit cards, he said.
“It’s an option for people,” Unkovskoy said.
Upon entering the shop, a user can log on to his or her PayPal account and the iPad-based program will connect automatically, Unkovskoy said. Then, a photo of the customer pops up, and the cashier approves the transaction.
It’s a simple process, he said.
The value behind using PayPal for merchants is to support consumer demands, gain support from e-commerce giants to drive local sales and reduce payment difficulties for consumers, Nayfack said.
Additionally, he said, consumers gain from the experience, as well. They are ensured convenience, credit card security and the best prices for the best services available to them, he said.
Mercury will expand this service throughout the nation in the future.
“Steaming Bean was one of the first of many merchants to engage the pilot,” Nayfack said. “Local businesses in Durango are steering the nation for best-in-breed mobile payment experiences. In many ways, Durango is the ideal ‘any town USA’ in terms of quick-serve restaurants like the Steaming Bean that are progressive and able to rapidly provide feedback.”
Nayfack could not give a specific date as to when other merchants can start accepting PayPal in their stores. But he said, “Next year, we will see larger acceptance of many merchants in store.”
Though still in its developmental stage, the payment system foreshadows a popular payment trend moving beyond cash and credit cards in years to come. Steaming Bean sees about two or three customers a day who take advantage of the paperless payment, Unkovskoy said.
“I think it’s going to be the way of the future,” he said.
vguthrie@durangoherald.com
