You Can Accept Credit Card Payments Anywhere
Customers have changed, radically and in ways that were unimaginable ten or even five years ago. With millennials all grown up, entrenched in workplace and parenthood, a new Generation Z is fast making waves in the marketplace.
This post-millennial generation born in or after the mid-1990s, with various sources putting the cut-off year anywhere from 1993 to 1997. Members of this generation were already at least ten years old when the iPhone first debuted. Unlike their parents, they may have no real memory of using landline phones, cashing a check at a bank, not having the Internet, or physically doing an in-person search of stores before buying a product.
These “digital natives” were born into a tech ecosystem and they experience the world very differently in terms of social, economic, political and technological concepts. As a small business owner, unless you acknowledge and embrace this fact, your business could become less relevant and competitive.
Accepting Card Payments is Essential For Your Business
With cash and check payments moving slowly into the past, small business owners that conduct business out of both brick-n-mortar stores, online, and on-the-go are fast embracing cashless technologies.
The benefits for your business include:
- providing fast, safe, convenient payment options
- meeting consumer expectations
- legitimacy and trustworthiness
- expansion of customer base
- better cash flow management
- better reporting and understanding of customer behavior
- netting the impulse buyer
Offer More Options and Get Better Results
Customers love options – it makes them feel more in control and gives them the assurance that they have a personal choice. If you select the right merchant account provider, then you can accept payments in person at the store, on your website, or on-the-go.
As a small business owner, you may operate various sales formats – you may sell goods and/or services in-store, on-line, at events, fairs, and conventions to national and international customers. There may be different currencies and geographies, and regulations to keep in mind. You need to analyze your business model and your target consumers and then come up with the optimal solution that’s cost-effective, broad-based and long-lasting.
For in-store and mobile payment facilities (in person) you’ll generally require card-reading equipment that is physically capable of reading the card. Card-readers should ideally be versatile enough to accept on-the-go payments on smartphones and iPads as well as tap and chip cards.
For online customers, on e-commerce and virtual terminals, you can use a payment gateway, which enables the card details to be submitted on a secure online format. Here, the hardware requirements can be avoided.
Selecting the right POS system is crucial. These systems can track your stock inventory, manage your transactions and provide important data and business analytics. In-store payment requires a focus on customer interaction. The transaction has to be safe, fast, familiar and easy. Online retail is focused on remote transactions. In either case, the wise option is to select an “All-in-One” solution.
For more information on how you can accept credit card payments anywhere, or to sign up for a merchant account, please call (888) 924-2743 or go to Charge.com.