The Big Loss of Accepting Cash Only - Keeping Up With Consumer Demand

As we continue toward a more technology-dependent future, we as business owners need to move along with it. One of the inevitable and ever-changing technologies that will affect every business are the various methods of payment that are either being transformed or brought to market month on month. These innovative and long-standing payment methods such as credit card, debit card, contactless, and mobile payments methods allow us all to transact with a broad demographic on a national and international level.

Payment methods are becoming more and more seamless, removing friction for the consumer and allowing for faster and more improved payment processing. As always there is a need for companies to keep with technology trends when it comes to serving their customers. Customers will tend to embrace new technology quickly – Companies who do not embrace new payment technologies risk missing out on sales and new revenue streams.

Benefits of Digital Payment Methods

Digital payments, whether it be on mobile phones, cards, or online, have become available in countries all over the world. Credit cards, debit cards, and mobile phones provide the ability to transact across the world without the need for cash. Digital payments offer the added benefit of being much easier to keep track of in terms of accounting and financial management and allow more security for the consumer as they travel. If your business is ready to accept digital payment, your business is more likely to receive increased payment opportunities.

• 1. Convenience
With digital payments, consumers can pay for anything from anywhere in the world, at any time. Businesses who can accept payments via ecommerce portals, over the phone and bank transfer can trade internationally 24 hours a day. Those businesses who are also prepared to accept payments in-store using digital payment methods such as contactless credit and debit cards, Apple Pay and Android Pay, create the ultimate level of convenience for their customers and position themselves to benefit from a wide range of revenue opportunities.


• 2. Security
When it comes to security, digital is ahead of the game compared to cash. There are ways to “hack” digital systems of course but it is not an easy task. Businesses are much more likely to lose cash through simple misplacement or theft than they are to be hacked. Unlike digital bank details or credit card theft, if cash is lost or taken from you, you can’t call your bank and request is back!



• 3.Accounting & Annual Returns
Using digital forms of payment processing for both incoming and outgoing cash in your business, should arguably cover a large portion, if not the majority of your business transactions. Not only is digital faster and more convenient, it provides an easily accountable and measurable representation of revenue and transactions moving through your business each year. This could save you or your accountant a lot of head-aches when it comes to annual returns and revenue submissions, and could in fact save you a whole lot of cash in accounting fees!

Let’s face the facts, not everyone is going to know how to use all digital methods like cryptocurrency, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, etc. but they’ll know how to swipe their card, punch-in their PIN, and move on. Even if you don’t quite feel ready for Google Pay or Apple Pay, it is arguably essential that your business is ready to accept contactless card payments.

Believe it or not, 54% of all active Irish debit cards owners (2.2 million card owners) are regularly using contactless cards to make payments for goods and services. But amazingly, just 5,000 Irish business currently accept contactless. The demand for digital and cashless payment is high and increasing every day. SME’s need to keep up with the times and ensure their business is ready to cater to their consumer’s needs, whether that’s in payment cash or digital form. Many customers carry only their phone with digital wallet or debit/credit card these days. Unfortunately, these customers won’t be able to give business to companies that only accept cash in this day and age.

Choosing the Right Payment Methods for Your Business

There are many options you can provide to your customer to make payment for your products or services. In some cases, cash is suitable and ever more increasingly debit or credit card is expected. As time goes on, the need to cater for evolving payment types including digital wallets, phone payments, and even future cryptocurrencies such as Bit Coin will become more and more mainstream.

Our minimum suggestion to position your business for todays financial world, is to accept cash as always, and if you’re not already accepting digital, get started with a credit/debit card terminal that works for contactless payments.

Accept just these two methods of payment and your business is ready for:

• Cash
• Credit/Debit Cards
• Contactless Card
• Apple Pay
• Android Pay
• Over Phone Payments