It pays for small businesses to accept card payments
According to research published in October 2017, three million UK small businesses don’t use a card machine. Yet Britain is rapidly heading towards a cashless economy thanks to an explosion in card use.
Cards are now the preferred payment method in 78% of retail sales. Contactless technology has made transactions faster and more convenient than ever, and it’s being embraced by consumers with over 100 million contactless cards circulating in Britain.
In fact, 2017 saw cards overtake cash as Britain’s main payment method. It’s a trend set to continue: by 2024, cashless transactions are estimated to reach 16 billion, equivalent to £718 billion.
Meanwhile, cash payments are in decline: by 2026, it’s expected cash will make up just 21% of all sales.
Something doesn’t add up
Consumers like cards and contactless transactions because they’re quick, convenient, secure and safer than carrying cash.
Yet 45% of small businesses believe they won’t miss out on sales if they don’t accept card payments.
This seems like a lot of missed opportunities. In fact, it is a lot of missed opportunities: in a striking coincidence, 45% of shoppers have left premises empty-handed because a business didn’t accept cards**.
But, there’s also good news: 60% of shoppers would spend more if a business accepted card payments.
Add a card machine to your business plan
Research reveals that by accepting card payments you signal something positive about your business – and that can have a positive effect on your bottom line. When customers know they’re not limited to the cash in their pocket, they make more impulse purchases.
In fact, simply displaying credit and debit card acceptance logos builds a sense of trust between business and consumer, and in itself can increase custom and spend.
Easy for customers. Easier for you.
Customer convenience and growing demand are compelling reasons to accept card payments. But you can also benefit from using a card machine in a number of ways.
Improved security. By accepting card payments, you’ll hold less cash on your premises, reducing opportunities for fraud and theft. Chip & PIN technology, Payment Gateways and 3D-Security are just some of the security measures that protect card transactions.
Guaranteed payment. When a customer pays using Chip & PIN you’re guaranteed to receive payment without any disputes.
Speedy service. Card transactions – even Chip & PIN ones – are faster than counting cash. And contactless technology is a superb queue-buster for any kind of business. More custom, shorter queues. What’s not to love?
Helpful extras. Our value-added services can deliver performance reports in an instant, let you monitor all your transactions from a single dashboard, ensure you never have to worry about till roll replacement, and more.
Open your business to more income
You don’t necessarily need a card machine for your business to accept card payments. With a Payment Gateway, you can take card payments from your website, over the phone and even by email. And because a Payment Gateway integrates all your transactions into one easy view, you can offer more ways to pay that actually mean less work for you. Read this article to find out how a payment gateway works.
And the fastest way to accept card payments
At Paymentsense, we understand the importance of cash flow to small business. We look after 70,000 small small UK businesses, handling some £6 billion in transactions per year.
We can have you ready to accept your first card payments in as little as 24 hours with a Payment Gateway, and ready to take payments from a card machine in just 72 hours.
So why wait? (Your customers won’t.) Click here for a free online quote to find out how we can help you grow your business by expanding your payment options.