In today’s two minute tip, I am going to provide you with a list of four payment types other than cash that you might want to accept in your business.
Payment Type #1 – Visa, MasterCard and Discover – I am lumping these three into one because every small business should accept these payment types. The reasons are simple. First, if you want customers’ loyalty, they need to be able to pay with the card types they have on them. Second, the average number of credit card transactions is 20% to 40% higher than the average number of cash transactions. You may not realize you are losing business. If you don’t accept basic card types, you will lose business as people shop elsewhere when they don’t have cash on them.
Payment Type #2 – American Express – Many business clients use only AMEX cards. If you offer large ticket size orders or deal with business to business transactions, you should accept American Express. The downside is that these transactions often come with higher fees. However, that is changing through a new program called American Express Opt Blue, so be on the lookout for it!
Payment Type #3 – Gift Cards / Loyalty Cards – If you deal with consumers and if it is possible for them to make an impulsive or emotional decision to shop at your business, you should have some type of gift card / loyalty card program. If you run an auto repair shop, outside circumstances beyond the control of consumers are usually causing them to come in to your shop. Unless you have designed a program to encourage consumers to stay away from your competition, a gift card / loyalty card program doesn’t make much sense for your business. When choosing gift card / loyalty card programs, watch out for fees! They vary a lot, so shop around.
Payment Type #4 – Apple Pay, Google Wallet, Mobile Payments – These make up less than 1% of all transactions today, so don’t think of this as a doorway to lots of new revenue. However, perhaps you are trying to appeal to younger demographics or just want your business to be on the cutting edge. You can get a free credit card terminal which accepts these new forms of payment from most processors today at about the same cost as a standard credit card terminal. Make sure to post “Apple Pay Accepted Here” stickers on your door and register.
Enjoy your day!
James Shepherd
