Nine reasons why you should consider accepting card payments

Accepting card payments has become the norm for many businesses but there are still many that have not yet taken the leap and joined the plastic revolution, and the main reason for resisting is cost.

I have recommended to many of my clients that they should see past the downside of cost, and consider the benefits of accepting card payments. This is not the preserve of retailers, it is also equally beneficial for business to business operations.

I have set out below nine benefits to businesses that accept card payments.

1. Greater customer experience – Regardless of cost, more and more customers are expecting to be able to pay by card. Not accepting card payments is not offering your customers the level of service that they now expect.
2. Increased impulse buys – Customers that pay by card are more likely to buy on impulse.
3. Increased average spends – Businesses that accept card payments will notice that the average spend is higher than cash average spends. I have seen evidence of this from my clients moving to take card payments.
4. Avoid lost sales – When a customer has to leave to go and get cash, you run the risk of them not coming back.
5. Better cashflow – Accepting card payments can lead to cleared funds hitting your bank account faster than cheques would (for those businesses that still accept cheques).
6. Access to credit – Customers using their credit card have easy access to credit that businesses couldn’t otherwise offer. This can be very beneficial for trade businesses such as window/flooring firms.
7. Improved security – As more customers move to paying by card, this will reduce the amount of cash taken, therefore reducing the risks associated with holding cash.
8. Reach further – By accepting card payments, you have the ability to take payments over the telephone or online, allowing you a much wider audience than if you simply accept cash.
9. Reduce bad debts – This is one for trade businesses dealing with the general public and other businesses. It can save a lot of time in the long run if you can take card payments rather than chasing customers for small invoices.

Merchant services can be expensive for smaller businesses, however if you are a member of some trade associations you may qualify for special rates, so it's worth checking. There are also a number of different types of card payment services that you can offer from the standard Visa/MasterCard to PayPal and other Cloud based services.

If you would like to know more about what benefits you can gain from offering card services please do get in touch.

Grant Smith, Partner