Cashless payments transactions have been a popular trend in various parts of the world. As the following Bizztor article points out, businesses can find many resource-saving benefits to going the cashless way.
As technology develops so does the world of credit and debit card payments, from school dinner money to business invoices, the majority of customers expect to be able to pay by plastic. Proof of the growing trend came months ago, reported by FinExtra during the last quarter of 2017 when for the first time in UK history card payments overtook cash sales.
There are undoubtedly benefits to business owners when it comes to accepting card payments, most are widely reported, however what are the business advantages to accepting solely card payments and no cash whatsoever?
Eliminating cash from your business has been proven to save time, allowing resources and focus to be spent on other areas in need of valuable work hours. Nowhere is this more apparent than within hospitality industries.
Hours of business owner’s and management time can be spent at the end of the day ‘cashing up.’ Visa USA recently carried out a study where three restaurateurs were interviewed, following the removal of cash payments, of which on average they saved 23 hours per week on cash related errands.
The cashless trend seems to gain the most traction where contactless and mobile payments have grown in consumer popularity, such as in parts of Europe and Asia. So far, this has been another matter in the U. S. as some consumers are regular cash users, especially when it comes to small dollar amounts spent in C-stores as well as Quick Service Restaurants. Shake Shack tried a pilot in a New York City store by going cashless, but the trial was abandoned after customer feedback and store sales did not support the change. Maybe someday, cashless will catch on in the U.S., but right now many customers still keep ones and fives in their wallets to pay for coffee and lunch.
Overview by Raymond Pucci, Director, Merchant Services at Mercator Advisory Group
