In the world of modern business, cash is no longer king. In 2013, Forbes released statistics from Community Merchants USA indicating that only 27 per cent of purchases were made using hard capital. This number has fallen even further since then, to around 25 per cent according to the latest estimates. By 2017, the figures indicate that cash sales will account for just 23 per cent of transactions.
Plastic is a much more popular option. Around 70 per cent of all point-of-sales transactions are placed on either debit or credit cards. Despite this, only 64 per cent of small businesses accept these payment options. This is an awful lot of sales for so many SMEs to be missing out on.
If you’re one of them, here are a few reasons that you might want to reconsider your decision:
Flexible Payment Methods Increase Your Customer Base
Multiple studies have indicated that buyers choose to use businesses that accept their preferred payment method over alternative options. For many, this preferred option is some form of plastic, with 87 per cent of consumers citing Chip and PIN or contactless choices as theirs. This means that your potential customer base can be significantly increased simply by investing in a card machine.
This action is further shown to increase customer satisfaction, thanks to making payments quick and simple, reducing waiting times if payments are made at the point-of-sale, and allowing payments to be made over the phone rather than solely in person. The higher the customer satisfaction, the more likely you are to guarantee yourself some repeat business.
Flexible Payment Methods Make Accounting Easy
Another major advantage of flexible payment methods for B2Bs is that they can be really useful when it comes to accounting. Processing a transaction on a card creates a paper trail, and this can be sent to your accountants or used to fill in your own accounts – a much simpler task than counting coins. It offers the same benefit to your customers, making it a handy tool to clear up any disputes over cost.
Flexible Payment Methods Increase Company Profits
As we already stated, offering flexible payment methods is a great way to increase your customer base, and in theory, the larger the potential pool of customers, the higher your profits are likely to be. However, theories are all well and good, but most savvy businessmen prefer hard evidence to conjecture. Luckily, there are plenty of market studies to back up these claims. Not only do most companies see a surge in profits thanks to an increased amount of sales, but these sales also tend to be higher when they’re made on a card.
What’s not to like about that? Why not review your payment options today?
