The main objective of most companies is to make money and offering various payment methods ensures any prospective customers can pay you for the goods or services you provide. Some companies may deal predominantly in cash and others may also accept cheques or bank transfers. Many businesses offer card payments and some even embrace crypto currency.
The importance of offering card payments should not be underestimated. Cheque payments are antiquated and can take several days to process which can cause cash flow problems. Likewise, dealing predominantly in cash can mean several time consuming trips to the bank when time may be better spent elsewhere.
The benefits to accepting card payments are numerous:-
- Not all customers carry cash so the facility to pay by card is essential
- Many potential customers expect to be able to pay this way and may be discouraged if this is not an option
- Offering flexible payment methods adds credibility to your company
- Payment is often faster than a cheque or a bank transfer
- It is more secure than simply holding all payments in cash on the company premises
- Card payments can be accepted in person, online, by phone or by mail orders
So how do you accept payments by card?
In order to accept card payments you will need to set up a merchant account with an acquirer. There are many organisations that offer such services and examples of just a few of these include Worldpay, SagePay or Paypal.
Additionally, you will require a terminal, or several terminals, to accept the card payments. This could be an online terminal, an international card machine or a more complex point of sale machine.
Simple Formations have partnered with Worldpay to offer a merchant account for our clients. Whether you’re just starting your business or are looking to expand, Worldpay can help your business grow.
You can find more information on this here.
The economy is undoubtedly heading towards a cashless society and you need to be flexible with your payment methods to ensure your customers don’t look elsewhere!
