Virtual Payment Systems
The first question most new business owners have about credit cards is “Why should I take them?” Here are six reasons you should accept credit card and debit card payments:
Anyone Can Take Credit Cards
Anyone who has a smartphone, can get a “no monthly fee” processing account and take card payments. VPS mobile processing costs only 2.7% per transaction with no monthly or annual fees. If you take over $10,000 per month, you can pay a small monthly fee and get lower 1.7% per qualified card present transaction rates.
Don't Send Your Customers Away
Many people just don't carry carry cash. Last October (2014), the Federal Reserve found that only about 40% of retail purchases were made using cash. That means Debit Cards, ACH, Credit Card and checks accounted Sending your customers to the local ATM can be an invitation to your customer to do something else with their time and money.
ATM Fees Raise Your Price
When you send people down the street to the ATM, you are at best raising your price by a $2-$4 ATM access fee. So, the admission tickets you are selling for $2 each now costs your customer $6.
Credit Card Fees Aren't That Expensive
If you accept under $10,000 you can get a no monthly fee mobile processing account. Transactions cost about 2.7% - far less than what your customers will pay in access fees at the ATM. In fact, you are far better off raising your price to cover than forcing your customer to go away just to be able to pay you.
Mobile Processing is Easy
Today's mobile processing is super simple: you plug in a card reader to your smart phone and install an app. The app allows you to swipe the payer's card and collect their signature and is easy enough to use that you can show anyone how to do it. Best of all, you can take payments anywhere where you have either a cell connection or WiFi.
Avoid Tarnishing Your Brand
Not accepting credit cards has a stigma. By not taking card payments you are in the company of merchants that have been banned from accepting card payments. Banned merchants lose the right to take card payments by having chronically poor customer service, selling fraudulent products, having deep financial problems or selling consistently shoddy products. Your business probably isn't “that way” but consumers have no way of knowing that.