No matter what kind of small business you want to start, it’s important to make customer convenience a top priority from the beginning. Convenience will make all the difference when it comes to collecting payments from customers, providing an effortless experience for each customer and improving your chance of making more sales. In 2022, many customers are not carrying cash around, so only accepting cash payments is a sure way to cause problems for your business, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic which has led to contactless payment methods becoming more and more widespread in order to promote public safety. No matter what your business sells to customers, offering a wide range of payment options is key to providing customers with the modern service that they expect. The more options you have, the more customers you will be able to serve. So, what payment options should every small business accept in 2022?
Cash
Cash might be fairly outdated now, and you can expect that cash payments are going to be few and far between, with less people carrying cash now compared to just a couple of years ago. However, many people still do prefer to pay with cash, or they might have spare change on them that they’d like to get out of their wallet or pocket, which means that doing away with cash payments completely might have a negative effect on your business. Cash should never be the only payment option that is available to customers, but it’s always nice for them to have that option.
Credit and Debit Cards
You will usually find that most customers want to pay with a debit or credit card, and this is the minimum expected payment method for all businesses to offer today. If you’re not taking credit or debit card payments, then don’t be surprised if your potential customers come to view your business as a little bit outdated, or if you lose customers to a competitor as they don’t want to go through the hassle of going to the nearest ATM to withdraw notes. The good news for businesses is that with the growing need for taking card payments, it’s becoming easier and cheaper to accept them. NadaPayments offers small business credit card processing with no fess, allowing you to take 100% of your credit card revenue home. Their EMV terminal is Wi-Fi enabled, works with the majority of POS systems, and is easy to set up and customize.
Online Payment Wallets
Another option to consider offering when it comes to how your small business accepts payments is online payment wallets like PayPal or Venmo. These can be useful to have if you are selling products via social media, for example, or if your business involves visiting clients in-person to provide a service like hairdressing, car services, interior decorating, and others. PayPal and Venmo are wallets that lots of people have and use on a regular basis today, and this gives your customers the option to instantly send you the money from their smartphone even if they don’t have their debit or credit card with them. They can also use these services to set up recurring payments for regular services that you might offer, such as weekly home cleaning or gardening services, without having to get their card to manually make a payment every time your business does work for them.
Google Pay and Apple Pay
Along with accepting debit and credit card payments to your business, it’s important to consider how you can take advantage of the new trend of contactless payments. More and more people are using contactless methods as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This method of payment is already extremely popular in some parts of Europe such as the UK and is rolling out to more of the US as people recognize it as a great way to stay safe and avoid contact with high-touch items like card PIN machines when paying for goods and services. Apple Pay and Google Pay are options that allow anybody with a smartphone to connect their credit or debit card to their smartphone wallet and make a payment using their device, even if they do not have the card with them at the time.
Online Payments
A service-based small business may also want to consider accepting online payments. For example, after you have completed work for a client, you can send them an email with the invoice and a link to make the payment. This is another contactless option that works well for some companies, and since a growing number of customers now have their card details saved on their device or in their browser, it’s easy and convenient to use.
The days of businesses that only accept cash payments are long over, with today’s customers expecting a wider range of options when it comes to the goods and services that they buy.
