Five reasons why your business should accept card payments

If your business involves taking frequent payments for products or services, but you do not accept card payments, you should give close consideration to offering your customers the opportunity to pay by credit or debit card. Consumers expect to be able to pay by this method virtually everywhere as an alternative to cash - so if you are not doing so, you could be handing your customer over to your competitor.

Accepting card payments via 'Process Data Quickly' (PDQ) machines (also known as chip & pin) is convenient, secure and inexpensive. There's also a range of significant benefits your small business can enjoy by investing in a PDQ terminal.

1. Give your customer the chance to buy

Card payments have become so commonplace that many people habitually carry less cash - and actively expect to be able to use their credit or debit card in virtually all transactional situations. What could be more frustrating than turning a customer away because you cannot accept his or her preferred payment method?

You may feel that you can take the hit on a few pounds - but the real effect of missing that sale could be much more profound. Consider that customer's lifetime value. The fact that you could not accommodate the customer's first purchase may mean that you miss out on future purchases that amount to a much bigger cumulative sum - and maybe your closest competitor, who does accept cards, will reap the benefit.

2. Encourage impulse buying

Picture this scenario. A man is walking past your establishment. He slows down, considers going inside, maybe a sign or something in the window has caught his eye. Then he remembers that he does not have any money in his wallet and keeps walking. Would that customer have walked past if you had a sign on your door saying 'we accept card payments'? This could be the factor that pulls the customer into your establishment to make a purchase.

Another kind of impulse buy is an additional purchase. A customer may have enough cash to buy the item that he or she visited the shop to buy, but not enough to purchase an additional, unexpected item. Accepting card payment encourages higher value transactions - whereas only accepting cash inevitably puts a cap on how much the customer can spend.

3. Security is not a problem

Some business owners are understandably concerned about the risk that card payment fraud presents to them. But in fact, it's extremely difficult for fraud to occur with the latest 'chip and pin' card payment technology.

Further to this, banks are working constantly to improve security around card payments to make them even safer and more secure. If you can provide some basic training to your staff on how to avoid fraudulent transactions, the chances of your small business experiencing fraud are extremely small.

4. Keep less cash on the premises

If you only accept cash into your business, all of your revenue stays on site until you visit the bank. The security implications of keeping large cash amounts on the premises are important to consider and could even affect your business insurance costs.

Payments made via debit or credit card, in contrast, go safely into your business bank account as soon as they have been made.

5. Make your bookkeeping easier

If you're accepting card payments via a PDQ terminal, it will become easier to keep a record of the payments you've received. You'll be able to look up exactly what payments have come in and when, and you'll also be able to keep a specific track of all your card payment revenues.

Make It Cheaper offers a free price comparison service for PDQ machines and merchant services accounts. Our merchant services team will find you a great deal for your business and save you time and effort by taking care of all the paperwork for you. For a free, no obligation quote, call 0800 092 5399 and speak to a merchant services specialist. Alternatively, complete the call back form on the right of this page.