Today’s modern consumers are now turning more to cashless methods when paying for everything, whether for food deliveries to pricey gadgets—drastically changing the way businesses operate. In fact, for the first time, cashless businesses have surpassed cash purchases, with debit and credit card sales racking up to 80% of transactions.
That means, as a business owner, you need to set up cashless payment options in your operations and keep up-to-date with what consumers want to stay ahead of the curve. This applies to all kinds of businesses, even the best mortgage loan companies and the biggest retail stores in the mall are looking into cashless payment possibilities.
If your business is considering going cashless, follow these tips to streamline the process — providing a smooth and contactless payment experience for your customers.
Offer Several Payment Options
Unlike actual cash that’s universal in use, not every consumer will use the same cashless methods to pay for your products and services. Clients like having a variety of options to choose from, so make sure your business can accept payments through several payment options. These include payments through credit cards with a magnetic strip or chip, mobile payments, and customer loyalty apps.
Provide Prepaid Payment Options
In addition to providing several cashless payment methods, providing prepaid payment options like prepaid cards is a lucrative way to open up your business for more sales. Prepaid payment comes in several forms, including physical and employee cards, key fobs, and digital credits on mobile apps. You can usually process them faster than credit card and cash payment options while providing consumers more security.
It can be a fantastic way to build a customer base. That’s because most people today prefer paying with pre-loaded credits, as most are either underbanked or don’t have credits — giving them a convenient way of purchasing products and services.
Offer Customer Loyalty Programs
Besides providing several cashless and prepaid payment options, make sure to add a couple of closed-looped ‘payments,’ including gift cards and loyalty cards. Doing this ensures you make the payment experience smoother for your clients and helps you build a loyal customer base, encouraging them to return to your business.
Additionally, consider partnering with loyalty payment apps that reward consumers for frequently buying your products and paying for your services. These may include digital punch cards, cashback offers, and gamification discounts.
Keep Track of Payment Trends
Once you decide to go cashless, you’ll need to stay up-to-date with the newest payment trends. After all, you wouldn’t want to make your customers feel isolated because your company doesn’t offer their preferred payment method. Some trends you need to look out for currently are payment fobs, biometric payments, and request-to-pay services.
Prioritize Security
When setting up payment systems, one of the biggest concerns any business faces is the risk of security breaches. That’s because, along with the technological advancements, unlawful individuals are becoming more creative as more hackers are getting into small businesses’ systems. So, be proactive and protect your business’s and customers’ sensitive information by encrypting all data from cashless transactions.
The world is gradually becoming cashless — meaning businesses need to adapt. The tips mentioned can help you set up cashless payment options for your company seamlessly, keeping up with the demands and securing long-term success.
