Like land line telephones and retail catalogues, cash only business are becoming a thing of the past.

In this digital age, more and more consumers are choosing to go cashless and businesses are following suit. As a business owner, you always want to make sure you are taking advantage - or at least entertaining the idea - of all feasible ways to please your customers. By limiting your business to cash, you are restricting your reach and income potential as well as your overall productivity.

And while cash may seem like the cheaper and safer alternative, especially with the recent cases of identity fraud and credit card data breaches in the news, new advances in technology are making for more reliable and affordable ways for businesses to accept cashless payments.

Below are the top reasons to accept credit and debit cards for your business and why only accepting cash or cheque can be unfavorable.

Top 5 Reasons To Accept Credit And Debit Cards

1. Increases Sales

Credit cards not only expand your customer base, but they also encourage impulse purchases and more money spent per purchase. In a recent survey by CNBC, 50 percent of individuals admitted to only carrying cash with them less than half the times they are out of the house. And when they are carrying cash, 76 percent said they only carry less than $50. So, if your business is one where your average transaction price is high and you don’t accept credit or debit, you’ll more than likely miss out on a significant amount of sales.

You’re also denying your customers the option to buy your product in bulk. If they have to leave to grab cash, they likely won’t return to complete the sale and they’ll more than likely take their money to your competition. Let’s not forget, in this day and age, your competition is accepting credit and debit.

Not to mention, your consumers will probably give in to impulse purchases when it’s as easy as tapping a credit card and paying their bill later, rather than using up all the money in their bank account or all the cash in their wallet. And it’s extremely poor business practice to turn down money in exchange for your products or service. I mean, isn’t that why you own a business? But by not accepting credit cards, that’s exactly what you’re doing.

Furthermore, a recent fintech survey found that 83 percent of small businesses saw increased sales after they accepted credit cards as a form of payment. And 18 percent of those surveyed, made more than $20,000 per month while another 52 percent made at least $1,000 a month!

2. Saves Time and Improves Cash Flow

When a credit or debit card transaction is processed, the payment automatically gets deposited in your bank account without you having to leave the comfort of your store. But a cash only business is forced to send a trusted employee to the bank to deposit the cash, and risk miss paying your bills if you don’t make it to your bank on time. And if you’re a business that deposits cash on a certain day every week, you’ll have to keep the cash safe for that entire week before deposit day.

Accepting credit and debit saves you the countless hours you spend each week entering your sales data and cash transactions into your accounting software. The automation and speed at which your customers can pay at your store via tap payments also saves you time counting cash during the transaction and at the end of your business day.

Another benefit of accepting debit and credit is you get immediate authorization that the payment went through. There’s no sitting around wondering if your customers cheque is going to bounce, only to find out it does and you have to chase them down to get payment. Credit cards are all monitored and screened for security and fraud reduction. 

3. Improves Security and Reduces Theft

While some may think that your computer can get hacked or your email accounts can be compromised, recent online security efforts are making your digital life more secure and encrypted. Security features such as: two factor authentication, security questions, regularly changing your password, geographical login blockers, and mandatory complex password combinations.

The same goes for the systems that process electronic credit and debit transactions and the systems you may use to track your transactions. It’s actually riskier to only accept cash due to some major unavoidable security concerns, leaving you with a constant lack of peace of mind.

The fact of the matter is cash can get lost. Trusting your employees to handle your business’ cash is a must if you’re operating a cash only business, and your employees may not be so loyal or could make mistakes when giving back change to your customers. Not to mention, the customers that flood in and out of your store that are all potential thieves. It doesn’t take much to recognize a pattern and steal from you with little to no paper trail.

Credit and debit transactions can be automatically loaded and easily tracked and reconciled through your point of sale system, accounting software and bank statements. You can even hire an employee whose entire purpose at your company is IT and security. But when you run a cash-only business, you and your staff are forced to manually track, enter, and protect all the cash going in and out of your business and some are bound to slip through the cracks. 

4. Customer Convenience and Business Legitimacy

Not catering to your customers’ needs is a big no-no in business. A recent study found that 40 percent of consumers prefer paying with their credit cards and 35 percent prefer paying with their debit cards, while only 11 percent of consumers preferred cash. Now, imagine your business not catering to the 75% of individuals that like paying with credit or debit. You would be forcing these people to go to an ATM to pull out cash then come back to your store to complete the transaction. The survey also found that 51  percent of consumers under the age of 30 hate paying with cash.

Consumers trust their banks and the credit cards they carry. Canada is the second largest user of credit cards per capita in the world and nearly 90% of all adult Canadians own at least one credit card. If you accept them, you’re building trust with your customers and proving your business as a credible one.

As well, in this digital age, doing business online is becoming increasingly popular and in some industries, extremely important to stay relevant. If you want to run an online store and form an even playing field with your competitors you will need to accept credit cards. Mobile and online payments are a thing of the future, and if you limit your business to cash-only, you are halting your potential growth.

Your customers have credit cards for a reason. It helps build their credit, it gives them the opportunity to purchase things they don’t necessarily have the money for at the moment, and it gives them loyalty points and rewards points. In fact, 80% of Canadians own credit cards that offer some form of rewards incentive. If you aren’t allowing your customers the ability to exercise these fruits of their labour, they’ll go somewhere else.

Credit and debit card acceptance allows you to expand your customer base and increase your traffic by making it more convenient for your customers to spend money at your store. As Mark Cuban once stated, “Treat your customers like they own you. Because they do.”

5. Benefit from the expertise of a trusted payment processing partner.

Many business owners discover that the increase in sales generated by accepting credit and debit cards quickly offset the costs involved with getting setup with a merchant account and makes for an excellent return on investment. If you partner with a reputable payment provider like Paystone that delivers secure credit and debit card processing, your business can reap the benefits of improved productivity, full automation, and a breadth of analytics. Not to mention, getting setting up is quick and easy.