The way we pay for things has changed in the past few decades, with plastic taking over from physical cash in many cases. While checks are still in use and their scrapping has been postponed, there are many older payment methods becoming out of date and new ones emerging.
If you run a small business then it is important that it adapts to accept many of these new payments with the correct technologies in place. Ensure your business is using the right payment technology, which will differ depending on the type of company it is, with these common choices.
Phone Payments
Mobile payments have seen a boost in the last 18 months, with a lot of it attributed to Apple Pay which launched in October 2014. It is not the first to use near field communication (NFC) to make payments but because of the brand’s global influence it could help spearhead the technology. At the moment it is only really appropriate for shops and restaurants to speed up transaction times, so for retail businesses having technology capable of processing mobile payments can increase productivity.
Online Payments
Ordering and paying for items and services online is now commonplace and if your business has a website then it must have an option to pay online. Whether you’re selling physical products or providing a service, such as being in the hospitality or consulting industry, then this is necessary for paying outright or putting down a deposit. Learn more about making online payments.
Chip and PIN Machines
Every customer facing business needs a Chip and PIN machine, no matter what its size as you can quickly lose business due to potential customers not having cash on them. Everywhere from pubs to corner shops have card machines these days, with the next step being to ensure they are able to process contactless card payments. There are some worries over security but they can only process payments up to £30 at the moment. We should note that Chip and PIN machines have not been adopted to the United States at this point.
Bitcoin
Bitcoin saw a sharp rise in usage and while it may have subsided a little bit since, there are various places that still accept the currency. There are both positives and negatives to accepting Bitcoin as payment and the currency does hold the potential to become an untraceable digital payment method. This can be incredibly useful for businesses selling items that people may want to hide, such as a wedding ring if the buyer is worried their other half may see it appear on a bank statement.
So, is your small business using any of these payment technologies? If so, please leave a comment below and tell us about your experiences with them.
