How Credit Card Acceptance Boosts Your Sales

Owning any kind of business now requires providing several payment options for customers. If you limit your payment options, you may also be limiting your customers, especially new potential customers who may not know your payment rules. Some mom and pop entities still refuse to make the switch to become credit card processing capable and as a result they are losing business to those business that offer credit card convenience. Consumers have become credit-only shoppers.

There are several reasons for this but the reality of the business world is that consumers are changing the way they shop and business owners must make changes to accommodate their clientele. So why are people making the switch to plastic-only? There are a variety of reasons including:

Going Electronic
Because so much of banking and financial transactions are done online, more people are forgoing cash because it has become a hassle. They prefer to use their banking debit card or their major credit card rather than deal with cash. If you only accept cash payments, those who rely on the convenience of plastic may bypass your business because it is not convenient. As the rules are changing for the minimum charges a customer can make using a credit or debit card, people are less likely to be carrying cash in their pockets even if they only pay $4 for a cup of coffee and a donut.

Better Tracking
People nowadays are working at being more budget-conscious and many feel if they have cash on hand, they will spend it recklessly. Using a credit or debt card allows buyers to keep tabs on what they have spent, where they have spent the money, and give them instant access through the online accounting systems most banks are now heavily promoting.

Dependence on Rewards
With more credit card companies offering competitive rewards plans, people want to get the most bang for their buck. For each time a card is used, rewards points or even cash back incentives benefit the consumer more than just paying with plain old cash.

Consumer Rely on Credit
For bigger items, people often do not have the cash upfront to complete the purchase so they use their credit cards to cover the balance. If you sell more expensively priced items, people likely will not be able to afford cash-only purchases.

Business Use Credit Cards
These days other business owners rely on credit card statements to itemize their business expenses. If you are supplying products that cater to businesses, you'll likely have to accept either company checks or company cards. Most businesses will not deal with cash transactions at all when purchasing equipment and supplies.

Online Transactions
If you conduct business online, accepting card payment is almost a requirement. There are third party services that offer ways to process payments via credit card but not all consumers are willing to take the extra step. They want to log in, add to their cart, and check out using their major credit card. This offers them not only convenience at check out but also consumer protection should something go wrong.