Accepting credit card payments is essential, especially in today’s age, no matter what kind of business you’re trying to run. Due to the countless technological advancements this generation has, it would be a huge loss to be left out because you want to keep doing the old practices. Almost anything can be done online now, from making essential appointments to essential people to mundane tasks like filling out a form or even shopping.
Speaking of shopping, it can entirely be done online now, from online payments to door-to-door delivery. All thanks to credit card payments which can be made online or through credit card gateways that you can use in your physical stores. For this reason, a significant number of people nowadays opt to carry a credit card instead of actual cash.
We really can’t blame them because it’s much more convenient and safer. You lose that money forever when you lose cash, but you can go to the bank to freeze your account if you lose your card. With that in mind, if your store still doesn’t accept credit card payments in this day and age, then your store is losing a significant amount of sales from a vast demographic of customers.
Here are a few reasons why your store should accept credit card payments.
Increased Sales
Nowadays, many people opt to pay with their credit cards rather than cash. Missing out on accommodating these people can be a massive loss for your store. On the other hand, having your store accept credit card payments can significantly increase your sales. How? You let your store do more transactions because of the enormous demographic you now accommodate.
As mentioned just now, many people nowadays prefer paying with a card rather than with money, and taking advantage of that fact will give more customers more access to your goods and services.
Not only that, but people tend to spend more when they are using their credit cards because they are not limited to the amount of cash they have in their wallets, and also that they are directly making transactions with their bank accounts, which contain most of their money. This makes them more prone to impulse buying because they have free reign in their bank accounts.
Competitive Edge
If you’re not accepting credit card payments, then the people that can buy goods or services from you will turn away and do business somewhere else. There’s a big chance that they will turn to your competitors, mainly when your competitors accept credit card payments. As noted previously, the number of people preferring cash over a credit card is dwindling.
If you’re not accommodating this demographic, your customer base is also dwindling. And where will your other customers go? Most probably to other businesses. Don’t let this happen to you, and start the process of accepting credit card payments.
Ecommerce
If you’re planning to make a website where you can sell your products and services, then you’ll eventually have to resort to accepting credit card payments. A credit card is a primary method of making payments during online transactions, and it’s quite easy too. It may not be limited to a credit card as there are also online wallets nowadays, but they still work similarly to how credit cards do their transactions.
Safer
One of the main benefits of credit card payments is that they are safer than doing transactions through cash and checks. In the case of checks, there’s always that possibility of bouncing, and during this scenario, getting your money can be a long and tiring process as you will have to track the customer and inquire the bank.
If the customer doesn’t want to pay, you will have to go to court, which can take months to finish, just for one payment. Instead of having this possibility every time you are handed a check, why not start accepting credit card payments?
When you accept credit card information from your customers, they are screened as the transaction is processed, which inherently decreases the possibility of fraud and being cheated out of your money. There are also a lot of merchant processor service providers out there that have software that can assure you that there will never be any fraud happening in all your transactions.
And it’s not just safe for you but your customers as well. With reputable credit card payment processors, their credit card information is safe from data breaches or identity theft, making the transaction secure for you both. Your customers would then think that your store is reliable, ultimately benefiting your brand.
It’s Cheap
Many small and medium-sized businesses don’t accept credit card payments due to the belief that the whole process is expensive and might eat into their profit. But in reality, it’s quite the opposite. Sure, making your store accessible through a credit card can be pretty expensive because you have to buy this service from credit card payment processing companies, but in the long run, it’s relatively cheap.
Not only that, but the credit card payment processing industry is so competitive nowadays because many businesses are now opting for online transactions. That said, due to the market’s competitiveness, there are a lot of credit card payment packages out there in the market with excellent rates.
Not only that, but most of them are reputable enough already, so you don’t have to look far and wide and break the bank in the process. Also, if you’re worried that the integration process will take weeks or months, you don’t have to because it’s so easy to do that. You can start taking credit card payments in literal days with all your devices and accounts ready.
Business Legitimization
Most credit card processing companies do a background check on a business before doing the process. This means that your business should be legitimate and has no history of fraud or illegal transactions before you can do business with the credit card processing company. This further helps your customers rely on you more because they know that your business is legit and their money and information are safe with your store.
This can either mean that a lot more customers will stay loyal to you and/or you’ll gain a lot more customers in the future. And it’s not just your customers but other business people because they now know that your store is safe to make transactions with.
Customer Tracking
Some small businesses can be so busy that they fail to track their customers’ purchases and purchase history. This is a bad thing because it can make their customers lose loyalty to them because of their inefficiency and ultimately lose sales. After all, they’re losing track of their customers’ purchase histories.
With credit card transactions, you will get an electronic record of every customer’s purchase in your store, both offline and online. This makes tracking their history much easier and more efficient. You can even use this information to do market research on the holiday sales and trends that your customers fall into during significant times of the year.
Provide Options for Customers
As we all know, there are several credit card companies that you can choose from when you want to acquire a credit card. That said, most credit card payment packages nowadays integrate many credit card brands so that your business can take more customers with different brands of credit cards.
Time Efficient
Because a lot more things can be done online now, more and more people are opting out of going out of their house to do stuff because it’s too tiring and takes a lot of time. Time is money, as they say, and wasting your customers’ time is a big no-no for a business. If you’re worried that credit card payment processing takes a long time, you are hugely wrong.
It only takes a few seconds, even though it takes a lot of processes during credit card transactions. From checking your merchant account to verifying their accounts in their respective banks, it sounds like a lot of time will be spent, but in reality, everything can happen in just a blink of an eye.
If you’re now convinced to accept credit card payments, consider some things when choosing a credit card processor.
Fees
There are fees for integrating a credit card processor for your store. For example, there is the application fee, where you have to pay a fee for the company to process your application. There’s also a setup fee for them to set up your account and the device. Finally, there’s even a monthly minimum fee where the company will take a small fee as their profit. Of course, these fees depend on the credit card payment processing company you choose, so choose wisely.
Compatibility
When setting up an ecommerce store, you need to make sure that the credit card payment processing fee is compatible with your store.
While most companies employ universal software for their processors, you still need to ensure that it’s compatible, especially with your website’s shopping cart. In addition, you might also want to look for a processor that allows mobile transactions, as most people prefer doing transactions on their phones nowadays.
Payment Method Coverage
Several credit card companies are out there, so you should ensure that the credit card payment processor accommodates the most common ones. Of course, traditional credit cards and debit cards are still used widely today. However, with the appearance of online wallets like Apple Pay and Samsung Pay, many more methods of doing online transactions are starting to surface.
Customer Support
Although credit card payment processors are safe and secure, it doesn’t mean that no problems will occur at all. Unfortunately, there can be quite a few problems during an online transaction, so the credit card payment processing company you chose should have a reliable customer support service to which you can call and talk 24/7.
This is important because many businesses know nothing about credit card payment processing. They indeed have many questions about how it works or helps during problems.
Security Tools
And most of all, the credit card payment processor that will choose should have top-notch security to protect your store and your customers.
For example, fraud solutions for in-store transactions are based on EMV chips embedded in the card itself. EMV cards contain the customer’s data, which can make forgery almost impossible to do. However, even with EMV, the data is still exposed, and if the hacker knows what he is doing, he will eventually get your customer’s data.
When choosing a credit card payment processor, you need to ensure that they have encryption and tokenization in place as additional safeguards for your customers. Furthermore, in the aspect of ecommerce, you should make sure that the processor supports SSL certificates and CVV2 verification.
Finally, you also need to ensure that your processor is compliant with PCI-DSS regulations, which stipulate that a merchant’s payment ecosystem is well-documented, safe, and secure. You also might want to ensure that your processor has fraud resolution services that can protect your store and your customers in case of a fraud alert.
Thankfully, most processors have top-notch security features, like stripe, which you can see in a stripe review that talks about its security tools online.
PCI Compliance
Speaking of PCI compliance, the best way for your customers to trust you is to ensure that you’re following and complying with a quality management organization’s strict standards and regulations. By electing to accept credit card payments, your business is adhering to the PCI Data Security Standard created and enforced by the PCI Security Council.
The Council provides an actionable framework that provides establishments with a robust payment card data security process which includes detection, prevention, and the appropriate reactions whenever a breach happens that threatens both the customer’s and business’ data. At a minimum, establishments must complete the yearly SAQ, which stands for Self-Assessment Questionnaire, to determine if the business itself is PCI compliant.
By having a PCI-compliant processor, both the business and the customers are ensured that the appropriate steps are taken that employ the highest level of data security to ensure the safety of both parties regarding their data. That said, a reliable merchant account provider will offer to assist you in completing the SAQ to verify your compliance and guide you to take the proper steps to ensure the data your customers have entrusted you.
Type of Equipment That You Need
Your establishment’s equipment depends on the type of business and how your customers prefer to pay. There’s always something for everything, from the most straightforward POS credit card terminal to the latest in-app-based payments.
Let’s talk first about POS credit card terminals. They are familiar, reliable, and very efficient devices that allow businesses to take credit card payments by letting their customers swipe their credit cards in the terminal. Of course, most payment networks are applicable, from debit cards to MasterCard. For most establishments, having a credit card terminal is enough for them to start taking credit card payments. However, it is limiting, especially nowadays, that people opt to pay with their credit cards through online means.
Another piece of equipment that you might be interested in is our integrated POS systems that help take your payment acceptance to the next level by being built directly into your POS. Integrated POS systems combine the latest software in payment acceptance and can be integrated into the most critical business software.
It’s the most popular method today as most businesses from different industries, from hotel chains to merchandise stores, use it because of its efficiency and ease of use. And of course, they allow different payment networks and even include online wallets such as PayPal.
However, it is excessive for some when a simple credit card terminal is enough to do the job. But if you have an online store and are taking mobile payments, mobile payment acceptance is the way to go. This is especially true because of the surge of people opting to pay through online wallets from their phones.
Therefore, mobile payment acceptance is prevalent nowadays, both in-store and online. Although a small attachment is sometimes needed for most transactions, many mobile systems can still accept mobile payments with only a smartphone.
Final Words
Many people prefer paying for stuff through credit cards, especially now that you can purchase most things online. That said, if you’re still not accommodating this substantial demographic, you are also losing sales and customers. This is a huge opportunity loss if you don’t accept credit card payments, so you might want to integrate credit cards as a payment method in your store as soon as possible.
If you’re now convinced that you need to start accepting credit payments and are looking for good credit card processors in the market, following the tips above should help you greatly. Luckily, there are a lot of processors on the market that are safe, secure, and inexpensive, so you don’t have to waste much of your time finding one.
