1. Increase sales. Studies show businesses that accept credit & debit cards will see a significant increase in sales volume.
2. It will help legitimise your business. Studies show that when you display card logos as forms of payment you accept, these logos create a sense of ‘trust’ in your customers mind, and if they trust you, your customers will buy from you.
3. A merchant account improves cash flow. Accepting cards has a huge positive effect on business cash flow. Even if sales don’t increase (and they almost always do) your business will benefit by having the money from the card sale instantly delivered to your bank account. No more waiting for a cheque to clear, or sending out time consuming invoices, waiting for payment. With cards you get your money from your customers quickly and easily.
4. Over 90% of web purchases are made using cards. If you are selling ANYTHING on the web and you are not accepting cards, you are eliminating 90% of your potential buyers.
5. Grabs Impulse buyers. Credit card holders buy more on impulse, are more affluent, and buy 2.5 times more merchandise than non-card holders.
6. Convenience. Let your customer decide the most convenient way to buy from you. Many customers want to use cards because of reward points or reward miles associated with their cards. Customers are more likely to buy from a business that accepts cards than one who does not. Don’t lose a customer to a competitor just because you don’t accept cards.
7. Larger orders. The average order size of someone paying via card tends to be larger than someone paying by cash or cheque. And larger orders = more profit. In addition, customers paying by card tend to place extra orders and order more often.
8. Competition. Your competition is likely to be already accepting cards.
9. A merchant account is inexpensive. Gone are the days of high rates and fees. In fact, usually the increase in sales a business receives when they do accept cards more than covers the small costs involved. As a result, by accepting cards many businesses make more money!
10. Quick and easy setup. Many businesses think getting setup to accept cards is a long and tedious process. No more! Most of the time you can be up and running within 7-10 days.
As leading independent consultants within the industry acceptcards are available to discuss all your requirements and provide advice and assistance in setting up a card processing facility, as well as reviewing card processing costs for those already accepting cards.
Aubrey Evans is a resident of Canterbury. She writes about The
Local Accounts Department Service Canterbury, Management
Centre for Financial Canterbury, The
Local Bookkeeper Service Canterbury. She likes to read and work out in her
free time.
