The world is becoming more and more digital as we speak. In the aftermath of the pandemic, contactless payments and online shopping continue to dramatically increase and fuel the shift from cash to cashless payments worldwide.
In the UK only, in October 2021, the total number of transactions made using contactless cards amounted to over £1.3 billion, with the value of transactions increasing to over £14 billion around the same time, according to Statista.
Accessibility to cash post-COVID 19 is another challenge customers face, with 4.3% of the UK population living further than 2km from a bank, building society, Post Office branch or ATM, according to House of Commons research. This is not helped by the fact that around 25% of ATMs now charge customers to withdraw their own money.
Businesses rightfully have questions about how and where these consumers shop, their payment challenges, and how to make the shopping experience as frictionless as possible.
This is why taking the leap into building your business to be entirely cashless is now a good idea. Most of the time, it is more convenient for customers and eliminates much of the hassle that is usually associated with traditional payment methods.
Key benefits of having a full-on cashless business
1. Reduce business costs
Cash comes with the responsibility of dealing with and moving physical currency: employees must be trained to operate a cash register, make changes and tally the money at the end of the day. Cash must be tracked and transported. By only using electronic transactions, it is easier to automate and identify trends, as well as keep track of sales and products. It also comes with the advantage of avoiding bank fees for counting and accepting cash deposits.
2. Improve customer experience
One of the main benefits of digital payments is the seamless experience they offer to customers while allowing your business to send and receive payments from anywhere in the world in just a few clicks.
If your business frequently encounters long lines and impatient customers in-store, fully switching to digital payments can only help. It will make queues run faster, and the card-only payment system will encourage customers to return for a swift, stress-free checkout experience.
3. Gain visibility over expenses
By going cashless, you can automate specific accounting and bookkeeping tasks. This automation can be especially useful when filing taxes because all the transaction data, including sales tax information, is easily organised and readily accessible.
By using a smart payment gateway like Trust Payments, you’ll be able to send and analyse transaction data to improve customer service, product selection, or marketing.
By using automation, you will greatly reduce human error, which is always possible with traditional accounting, as well as have peace of mind knowing that all the information you need is readily available.
4. More security and less risk
In your physical store, eliminating cash comes with added benefits. It will prevent employees from stealing from the register and reduces the chances of making your business vulnerable to burglary.
Moving to the online space, it’s important to ensure secure online transactions using the right payment gateway provider. At Trust Payments, we are using the new PSD2 Strong Customer Authentication requirements as well as the newest secure 3DS2 protocol in order to avoid fraudulent transactions and costly chargebacks for your business.
Things to consider when going cashless
When doing a business review, you should determine the size of payments customers typically make and their average transaction value. Knowing this will help you calculate how much each digital payment will cost.
Furthermore, consider if your industry is more likely to use cash rather than digital payments. Are your customers willing to choose this payment method as their main preference? It might not be an issue altogether, and you can encourage their move towards digital payments by offering small discounts for digital payments or openly marketing the benefits of going cashless.
With more and more businesses switching to cashless transactions, it appears that cashless transactions will have a bright future. This is especially true in the retail sector.
From Trust Payments, TRU Connect makes your business run digital payments totally compliant with 3DS 2 through any device or channel. Learn more.
