Business owners are always looking for new and innovative ways to build their business, increase revenue and reduce overhead. Over the past year, it’s become obvious that the very way businesses operate is rapidly evolving, and entrepreneurs are unlikely to experience growth and increased profits without being quick to accept new challenges and be willing to change.
One of the best strategies for growing a business is catering to the needs of consumers who now understand there are better ways to pay for goods and services than using cash. Digital payment options are experiencing incredible growth, and the pandemic only accelerated the rate of growth. If you’re considering initiating or expanding digital payment options for your business, the first step is understanding the underlying trends.
What’s Fueling the Change to Digital Payments?
The single most important factor in the expansion of digital payments is the number of people around the world using smartphones. Industry statistics point out that, in 2011, only about 35 percent of adults owned a smartphone. Today, 85 percent of U.S. adults own and use them.
That means smartphone owners have a tool at their fingertips to not only buy products and services, but also conduct their banking, and make use of mobile POS opportunities. It’s generally easier and faster to make or accept payments digitally, and today’s software options make the entire process flow more smoothly.
It’s also important that entrepreneurs remember that, while the U.S. market for smartphones is relatively saturated, smartphone use continues to expand dramatically in other parts of the world. That means today’s business owners can take advantage of growth opportunities in those regions. Smartphones are the great equalizer as they allow consumers anywhere to access your products and services.
Of course, there are additional socio-economic factors impacting the way people make or accept payments. It’s crucial to remember that the way we live, work, and play constantly changes, and business owners need to stay on top of new trends.
The question then becomes, how do entrepreneurs take advantage of the new digital payment revolution? Is there really an advantage to using digital payment options in your business? Here are just a few ways using digital payments benefit businesses.
Revenues Increase
More sales mean greater returns for the business owner. While increasing sales is certainly not a simple process, there are proven strategies that make it easier to accomplish that objective. Yes, a quality website is a must, and the products or services being sold should be the best available. However, if a website doesn’t provide an easy and fast way to check out, nothing else matters. When customers make the decision to buy, they won’t tolerate outdated payment options and a site that’s not responsive.
Merchants offering a variety of payment options are more likely to capture additional sales. That means it’s time to consider providing more choices than have been available in the past. While credit and debit cards are still the most popular online payment method, other new options are becoming popular. If you’re looking for ways to take advantage of foreign markets, accepting other forms of currency are crucial to your success.
The point is, offering a variety of safe digital payment for businesses will put merchants in a position to capture more sales. In an era where the use of digital payments is expanding dramatically every year, there are strong reasons to adapt your site now rather than playing catchup later.
Using Digital Payments Improves Security
With the rash of high-profile hacks in recent months, it’s obvious that owners need to be more aware of their company’s security. Losing access to vital data and having customer information at risk isn’t acceptable. When you partner with a payment service provider, understanding the level of security provided is incredibly important.
Working with a payment platform provider means you’ll always have access to the best security available. At Xpress-pay, we understand the importance of security and ensure all our services are protected using advanced protocols so your payment system is safe for both you and your customers.
Tailored Services Meet Your Needs
Regardless of the type of business, our services are tailored to meet your needs. Today, companies are growing significantly, which means their payment systems must be properly scaled to meet their immediate needs with the capability of handling expanded traffic in the future.
Of course, we’re also here when you need to add new digital payment options. Since the methods of payment are expanding, it’s important your website is also capable of changing when new options become available and your customers demand them. Remember, consumers won’t buy if their preferred payment choice is not on your list of options.
Payments are Automated
In the past, manual payment processing invariably led to errors. Incorrect charges, resulting in losses to the business and irate customers, are costly. Adopting automated digital payments eliminates the risk of human error.
In addition, it’s easy for both business owners and customers to track digital payments. Simply having an accurate record of transactions eliminates many problems for both, and those customers are happier when they can track payments, account balances, and other functions digitally.
Customers are Happier
Beyond the convenience digital payments offer, it’s always important that your customers are happy. If their overall satisfaction with a transaction is high, they’ll not only buy more in the future but are more likely to recommend your business to others.
When negative reviews appear online, your company’s bottom line can suffer. If clients feel they are important and their business is valued, they’re less likely to post damaging reviews. If your payment system is straightforward and transparent, it’s less likely problems will develop. In the event issues do arise, digital payment options can make it simple to resolve them.
Reduce Your Costs
When cash and other offline payment options are used, the costs to process those payments can be significant. When digital payments are accepted, the odds of errors occurring are reduced, which means total expenses are reduced.
While it’s still necessary to accept cash and checks in some circumstances, the move toward digital payments is reducing those cases. Customers at brick-and-mortar stores are also happy to pay using digital options, because it eliminates the need to carry cash with them.
Streamline Your Operations
Increasing the efficiency of your operations also reduces expenses and enhances the company’s bottom line. Digital payment systems benefit all types of businesses, regardless of their size. Digitalizing data makes tracking both income and expenses far easier. That means you’re better able to schedule shipments, track vendor performance, and increase customer satisfaction.
If you’re on top of sales and expenses, it’s easier to plan for the future. You can readily see sales trends and alter plans as needed to ensure you’re ready for whatever the future holds. At the same time, it’s not always possible to predict future sales. The pandemic proved that, as some industries expanded dramatically during the past year while others didn’t. What was the difference?
It’s not easy to pinpoint a specific reason some companies thrived while others suffered, but one factor was whether a company was prepared to meet new challenges. An important factor was a company’s ability to adapt to new shopping trends and payment requirements. If your company was already accepting digital payments, adhering to the new requirements brought on by the pandemic made adapting and expanding less complicated.
So, are you prepared for the next major change we might face? It’s important to evaluate your current operations to identify areas where improvements can be made to enhance your company’s bottom line. While it may not be the first item on your list, moving toward accepting more digital payments should certainly be near the top.
Getting Started
Even if you already accept digital payments, is your payment partner capable of meeting your company’s evolving needs? If you’re new to digital payments, now is the time to explore the digital payment options you have available and decide which ones to use.
The first step is to review how your company’s payment platform serves your current and anticipated needs as the markets evolve. If you haven’t made any changes over the past year, take the time now to contact our team of experts to learn more about how digital payment options can enhance your business’s growth.
It’s normal to have questions related to digital payment options, so don’t hesitate to contact an expert for the answers you need. The only good way to learn how to proceed is to work with an expert who understands the nuances of various businesses and knows the pros and cons of various digital payment options for different types of businesses.
Once you adopt a digital payment system, it’s crucial to stay on top of new payment trends that might impact your company. As the markets change, and consumers demand new services, it will pay to adopt new options quickly. Stay ahead of your competition by offering the best digital payment options now.
