Some businesses don’t accept credit cards as a method of payment. There are fees that merchants have to pay in order to process credit cards and many of them don’t want to pay them.
This is no longer a good business practice. It’s essential that businesses are open to credit card processing because so much revenue can be gained through it. Businesses that don’t accept credit cards are hindering their growth and competitiveness.
More People Are Using Credit Cards
The millennial generation (those born between 1981 and 2005) now makes up the largest section of the Canadian workforce. This generation is now earning more money and spending more as well. How millennials spend their money and how they pay for products and services matter greatly.
It’s vital that companies are able to process the types of payment that millennials like to use, and one of those methods is by credit card. Eighty percent of millennials have at least one credit card and 27 percent of millennials have said that more than half of their disposable income is spent using a credit card. That’s a lot of credit card processing, as well as many missed sales and opportunities if your business doesn’t accept credit cards.
Online Stores
The majority of millennials do a lot of online shopping because it’s convenient to them to be able to shop whenever they want and wherever they want. Online stores use credit cards as their main option of payment (though other options, like gift cards, are also available) because it’s the easiest payment processing option.
The rise of online shopping will only increase. It’s estimated that, by 2019, Canadians will be spending a whopping $39 billion on online shopping. Credit card processing is the way into this market, and so it’s imperative that credit card processing is available and that the processing fees are manageable for a business. Online shopping is here to stay, and merchants should be engaging with this shopping option to stay competitive.
Providing Choice
Everyone likes to have choices. Your business accepting credit cards provides customers with the ability to choose how they’d like to pay. Being given the ability to choose can increase customer loyalty because you’ve not only given your customer the ability to choose, you’ve given them an easier way to pay that’s secure and cost effective for them. All of those factors inspire brand loyalty.
A customer who can’t pay with their preferred method of payment is a customer who’s likely to stop shopping with you, especially if your competition is making it easier for them to shop elsewhere.
The rise of the millennial generation has something to do with that. Millennials like to use credit cards to pay, especially when they have cards that give them cash back. Another reason for the rise of credit cards is online shopping. The convenience of online shopping has prompted many people to get at least one credit card, and it ensures they use it often. If your business is unable to process credit cards, you’re missing out on a huge slice of the revenue pie, and letting the competition walk all over you.
