Page 43 - Spring Into Markets

Cash is (almost) no longer king
Taking plastic cards has to be a serious consideration
There were times, not so long ago, when retail market traders dealt almostly exclusively in cash.
Though credit and debit cards have been in wide use for many years, they were not in the mix when it came to market sales.
Shoppers expected to pay in cash and, if they didn’t have enough of it on them, they would pop round to the nearest cash machine — problem
solved.
But those times have changed. Now many shoppers expect to be able to pay using a card — or even their mobile device — and those shoppers will seek out the traders offering this facility.
The cashless trend has been boosted by the ever‐increasing disappearance of cash machines. And the COVID‐19 pandemic has made many shoppers and traders alike preferring contactless payments over physically exchanging banknotes or coins.
The cashless world is descending on us at great speed. A study suggests that more than half (53 per cent) of global transactions at POS (point of sale) will be contactless within five years, compared to just 15 per cent in around 2020.
So from this you might well be thinking taking credit and debit card payments is a necessity.
Of course we must point out that there are various methods available to take these payments and in the end it’s obviously up to you to decide on the one that is best for your business.
There are card readers you can buy as a one‐off purchase, and then only pay a percentage rate for each transaction.
That’s okay if you don’t have many sales, but there comes a point when it would make more sense to have a hand‐held mobile terminal with a better commission rate.
So before committing please do your research.
To download and complete the exercises in this guide’s module
Guide 5 Selling Your Products 43