Sorry, cash. The revolution’s here, and you’re no longer king.
UK Finance, the bank industry’s trade body, reported that debit and credit cards overtook cash as the UK’s favourite payment method in 2017. A record 13.2Bn transactions were registered – 15% more than cash transactions in the same period.
Contactless transactions doubled in volume as consumers embraced the convenience of one-touch payment. And this trend is set to continue, with contactless payments on track to make up 36% of all transactions by 2027.
Digging a little deeper, we find a couple of surprising figures. 3.4 million people barely used cash during 2017. We’re a nation of spontaneous spenders: just 15% of all transactions were for regular bills and commitments.
Whether we’ll become a cashless society is up for debate. But what’s certain is that card payments are here to stay, and growing more popular. And that means that the benefits of small business card machines are also set to grow.
New opportunities are on the cards.
So, apart from welcoming a growing number of customers happy to indulge in spontaneous, effortless spending sprees, how else could a small business benefit from using a card machine?
For a start, it makes sense to accept payments from as many sources as you can. You don’t want to miss a sale and frustrate customers because you’re can’t process their payment.
And who’s to say they’ll use a card to pay? Apple Pay and Android Pay are also being adopted by tech-savvy consumers. (Handily, all our card machines accept these payment methods.)
Card payment technology is evolving, making it more attractive to customers and business. Improvements and innovations in security, speed, reliability and functionality are ongoing, improving speed, reliability and security.
Turn any business into a convenience store.
Even small business can find themselves dealing with big queues. Card machines act as tiny queue-busters. ‘Tap and go’ applies to the queue, not just the transaction.
A card machine can also benefit a small business by speeding up transaction time and payment processing time (how long it takes to transfer funds from your customer’s account to your business account).
This can help improve your cash flow, and who wouldn’t appreciate that?
A helping hand for busy business.
Card machines offer features to make your working day that little bit easier.
For instance, our card readers connect to an online dashboard where you can view sales activity in new and revealing ways. This makes it easier to manage your finances, stock, and even spot new opportunities.
Improved security. And then some.
Another way card readers benefit small business is security. Every transaction is processed using high-level encryption and anti-fraud systems. This offers peace of mind to you and your customers.
Card payments also reduce the need to keep cash on site and make trips to the bank (which you’ll welcome, especially if you’ve had that one customer who settles using several months’ spare change).
Plug and pay.
At Paymentsense, everything we do is designed to support small businesses. And we really mean everything.
We can have you up and running with one of our card machines in just three days. Each small business card machine is configured to work straight from the box. There’s no fiddly set-up. Just plug it in and you’re ready to accept card, contactless and mobile payments (like Apple Pay).
We understand that closing for business doesn’t mean your day is done. You still need to run end-of-day figures ready for processing. Our card machines can do this for you in moments, freeing your time and allowing you to leave work at work.
Sold on the benefits of a card machine for small business?
There are plenty of reasons to add a card machine to your business. And we’ll do all we can to help you choose the right one, and the right package for your business.
We focus on small businesses, so we understand the challenges they face. This focus has made us the UK’s fastest-growing payments processing company, serving over 70,000 UK businesses and trusted with over £6.5Bn in transactions each year.
We won’t keep you or your customers waiting
To see how a card machine can benefit your business, get an online quote today.
It’s easy to start taking card payments with Paymentsense: you can have a machine set up in as little as three days. Find out everything you need to know about accepting card payments and get your free online quote today.