In the not too distant past, most consumers paid for their everyday purchases using cash or checks. However, wider credit card adoption, advances in point of sale technology, and heightened security concerns brought about a rapid shift toward making even smaller purchases via credit card and other types of digital payments. In light of this sea change in shopping behaviors, it’s time to learn more about credit cards so that you can harness their power for your own business.
The numbers tell the story.
Hard facts help to quantify what you have probably already come to suspect: Cash is plummeting in popularity. Just take a look at these trends identified by Fundera:
- 76% of consumers have at least one credit card.
- Out of that group, 80% prefer to pay with credit cards versus cash.
- The average cash payment is $22 whereas the average non-cash transaction is $112.
- Each month, the average shopper uses 3.6 different payment methods.
These numbers help to pinpoint some interesting phenomena. For starters, consumers are using cash less and when they do use it, they are not spending as much. Furthermore, they are not just relying on one single non-cash payment option. Many now prefer to use digital payments such as electronic wallets and mobile apps, in addition to paying with Visa, Discover, Mastercards, and American Express.
Jump-start your profitability by upgrading your payment systems.
You may be one of those rare stores that only accepts cash and checks, or you might have a simple stationary credit card terminal that is linked to a merchant services account. In either case, it’s high time you joined the 21st century by implementing the hardware and software that will help you accept all types of digital payments.
Doing so is neither as difficult nor as expensive as you may think. Once you speak with your merchant account or payment processing provider, they can outfit you with the low-cost hardware and software you need. Before you know it, you’ll wonder how you survived without the business optimization tools and capabilities that are built into your upgraded point of sale (POS) system.
Accepting digital payments and your expanding profits.
With your cutting-edge POS system up and running, you are sure to quickly discover everything it can do for your store.
- Integration with barcode scanners and receipt printers for accurate inventory management and tracking for both you and your customers.
- Employee management, including productivity, onboarding, and time scheduling features.
- Customer relationship tools that allow you to reward frequent shoppers and learn about individual purchasing behaviors and product preferences.
- Reporting tools that provide insights into employee productivity, sales trends, and online behaviors.
With a modern POS system as your partner, you will be able to increase your operational efficiency while simultaneously creating an environment that will leave customers not only happy but motivated to refer your store to friends and family.
In particular, moving toward accepting digital payments can revolutionize your retail store. For one thing, doing so will allow you to provide your customers with a wide array of choices for buying your goods and services. These can include cash, checks, credit and debit cards, digital wallet options like Apple Pay and Android Pay, and even making purchases through a mobile app. Furthermore, contactless readers allow you to safely and securely access the consumer’s payment details without the need for any physical contact between you, your POS terminal, or the customer’s smartphone or wearable device.
In addition to providing added choices for your loyal guests, accepting digital payments gives you a way to put data security first. The various electronic methods are all equipped with mechanisms that help to ensure that sensitive information remains safe from hackers and as protected as possible from fraud and other types of data breach. With robust techniques such as point-to-point encryption and tokenization, as well as through the strict following of the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), your digital payment options provide far more safety than cash ever could.
By their very nature, digital payments are electronic, trackable, and accurate. Instituting them in your business cuts down on the likelihood of data entry errors, enhances security, reduces the chances of fraud, and adds a level of convenience that both staff and customers appreciate and value. Although cash remains a viable way for some customers to make purchases at certain times, it seems clear that digital payments have taken precedence. Incorporate them into your business and you too will be able to cash in on their many benefits.
