It’s Time For Businesses To Say Yes To The Cashless Future
COVID-19 changed our lives radically, and almost entirely in negative ways. One good thing it brought about, however, was the rapid rise of cashless transactions –– by no means new during the pandemic, but certainly more prominent than ever before. This can be partially attributed to a need for more hygienic exchanges of money.
As of last June, The Guardian reported that only 1 in 6 payments made in the UK were made in cash. The rest is being done via cards or devices like smartphones and smartwatches. As 2022 goes on, we can expect this ratio to deepen.
If your business has yet to embrace a cashless future, know that “going cashless” can provide more benefits than just hygiene and convenience for the consumer. It can also help your business grow in ways you’d have previously thought unimaginable. Here’s how.
More cost-effectiveness
Physical cash needs to be accounted for at all times, whether at the cashier or on your balance sheets. With contactless payments however, each transaction is automatically tallied for you. These payments also allow for faster queues, so you can cater to a greater number of customers. Meanwhile, you spend less time and money training employees to handle cash while eliminating human error from the equation. Any worries about transaction fees building up over time can be discarded, as cashless payments will offset this total significantly.
More security
Another concern when dealing with physical notes and coins is that they’re also much easier to steal, whether by general thieves or even your own staff. With cashless transactions, however, every payment goes straight from a customer’s bank account to yours. This makes your brick-and-mortar locations more secure. Online, meanwhile, using reliable payment gateways for your website — like Authorize.Net and PayPal — reassures customers that they can trust you with their money. And with diverse fintech professionals having written in “The Paytech Book” that cryptocurrencies and the blockchain are improving cashless payments against cybersecurity threats, switching to cashless becomes an even more sound investment. It prepares you to easily implement digital asset acceptance if and when it becomes appropriate (or necessary).
More competitiveness
Implementing cashless transactions will also give you an edge over competitors. With cashless adoption quickly going mainstream, embracing it earlier can get you ahead and give you more time to reap the benefits. In fact, American business management consultant Jim Collins explains in his book “Good To Great” that successful companies think about technology as an accelerator of momentum in general. They adopt emerging tech out of their desire for excellence — not fear (or a need to catch up). Here at TiPJAR, we made just this sort of move by partnering with Trilo, an open banking company that uniquely complements our services. Ultimately, early adoption can only result in a heftier ROI.
More transaction value
Most importantly, leveraging the psychology of spending will also help you to boost your profit margin directly. The gist of it is that cash is tangible and dwindles visibly once spent, so consumers are more conscious about making cash purchases. They don’t have that visual cue when using credit and other forms of contactless payments, so they’re likely to spend more than they would with cash. This can boost transaction values in your establishment significantly, and recent reports corroborate the idea: Yahoo confirms that amid pandemic-fuelled online shopping, UK credit card spending alone reached its highest point in over 8 years.
The cashless future is here, and it’s high time your business embraces it as well. In the process, you’ll find that your company will run more efficiently while serving your customers better. Overall, it’s a win-win situation.
Jasmine Brooks
Exclusively written for wearetipjar.com by Jasmine Brooks
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