A 2017 survey shows that credit cards are the second most preferred mode of payment for most consumers.
44 percent of customers prefer debit cards while 33 percent would choose credit cards. Just 12 percent prefer to pay with cash.
Do you accept credit cards in your business? If you own a small business, your answer should be an absolute yes!
As a small business owner, you’ve got lots of responsibilities. You must ensure you have a nice product to offer customers, ensure you’ve hired the right employees, abide by laws and regulations, pay bills, market your business, etc.
Why add an extra responsibility to your endless list by not accepting credit cards? The benefits of taking credit cards outweigh the drawbacks by far.
Here are 10 good reasons why it makes sense for your business to take credit card payments.
You’ll Boost Sales if You Accept Credit Cards
Cash isn’t going anywhere, but fewer and fewer people are carrying it around. In fact, a report released in May 2015 projects that check and cash payment volumes will be reduced by 46 and 24 percent respectively by 2018.
Meanwhile, card payment volume will grow by more than 50 percent. Therefore, if you don’t accept credit card payments soon enough, you’re going to miss out on lots of sales.
Accepting Credit Card Payments Can Enhance Your Cash Flow
Once you start taking debit and credit cards, the cash flow in your business should improve. Thanks to the electronic processing of transactions, you no longer have to wait for checks to be cleared.
Waiting for customer payments and billing can be quite tedious. Therefore, taking credit cards smoothes the process and leaves little room for mistakes when handling cash.
Credit Cards Increase Credibility and Build Trust
Getting the attention of cardholders and making them trust your business is shown to increase sales. By display the logos of cards you take on your site and cash register, you can achieve that.
Customers have deeper relationships with their favorite cards. So, seeing that their favorite cards are accepted in your business makes it a more customized experience and builds trust.
Encourages Impulse Buying
When you take credit cards you’ll also encourage customers to spend more at your business. In fact, a study shows that people usually spend 12-18 percent more when using credit cards instead of cash.
Since customers can’t physically see the amount they’re spending, it’s much easier to buy on impulse when paying with credit cards.
Consumers always don’t buy only what they need. Sometimes they buy more stuff than they planned and even buy completely different items from what they intended to buy.
While the decision to buy more expensive or extra things might be somewhat random, you can sway it in various ways. Good customer service and placement of things will certainly help, but accepting credit cards is the best way to convince customers to spend more than they need to.
No Bounced Checks
Handling bounced checks is not only painful but also awkward. On the other hand, credit card transactions are carefully examined to lower the chances of fraud.
Credit card processing companies monitor all transactions from payment to swipe to ensure that merchants don’t have to face any headaches.
Saves Your Money
Taking credit cards can help save money for your business, contrary to popular belief. Some sellers say that they don’t want to incur the extra cost of merchant services. The cost, however, is often compensated by:
- Less expenditure on labor
- Increased revenue
As mentioned previously, customers tend to buy more using credit cards rather than checks or cash. In addition to the increased sense of freedom, accepting credit cards gives you an opportunity to grow your market. You’ll open your business to many cardholders and reduce competition.
Recording check or cash purchases can be tiresome and time-consuming as it requires manual tracking. With credit card buys, the software can generate receipts automatically and create a record of all transactions. This saves your time and allows for easier reconciliation at the close of a business day.
In addition, money from credit card buys is deposited straight into your company bank account. This spares you from bank trips and lost productivity.
Necessary When Conducting Business Online
Nearly all online purchases are paid with debit cards, credit cards, and PayPal. So, if you’re a business that could grow online in the near future or you’re an eCommerce vendor, you can’t make it without accepting credit card payments.
There’s a Huge Demand for Acceptance of Credit Cards
There are lots of reasons why consumers would prefer to use credit cards. It convenient, quick and often rewarding as many creditors reward customers for using their credit cards.
Many B2B businesses make purchases only with their cards as it’s important to their accounting needs.
Many distributors and wholesalers now accept credit cards because of their increasing demand. By taking credit cards, you can get rid of your competition and maintain your consumer loyalty by increasing their payment options.
Customers Love Credit Cards for Their Convenience
Customers will always go for the most beneficial and convenient mode of payment. Not only are credit cards easy to use in various ways, they also offer mileage, points, or rewards.
This further encourages customers to use their cards whenever they make a purchase.
Reduces Employee Theft
Employee theft is a particularly big problem for small businesses as they lack the advanced security systems of top merchants. Cash is easy to access and readily available, making your business prone to employee theft.
However, accepting credit cards makes your cash less liquid and creates an electronic paper trail that’s so much easier to track and resolve.
Start Accepting Credit Cards Today
Not many people today are using physical cash, and businesses risk being left behind if they don’t adapt. Most customers now only purchase from businesses that accept credit cards.
It’s easy and affordable to set up your business to take credit cards. And once you’re ready to roll, you can sit back and enjoy all the perks of credit card processing for small business.
At High Risk Solutions, we provide credit card processing services for small businesses. Whether you have a high or low-risk merchant account, we’ve got you covered. At High Risk Solutions, we provide the best payment gateway for high risk business types.
Contact us today to learn how we can help your business.
