Credit card and debit card usage seems to be the top preferred form of payment today. People used to pay for their purchases with cash. However, today it is rare for people to even carry cash on them. Credit cards and debit cards provide a convenient and safer way of paying. If cash is lost, it cannot be replaced. If a credit card is lost, the card can simply be cancelled and a new one provided. Credit cards also make it easier to make purchases online. They are the most popular form of payment today and small business credit card services are important in keeping up with this demand.
When asked their preferred payment type, 43% of Americans chose debit cards compared with 35% who preferred credit cards and just 9% who preferred cash, according to a 2014 TSYS online survey or 1,000 consumers who owned both a debit card and a credit card. Both credit cards and debit cards provide different advantages and disadvantages when it comes to payment, but both are more convenient than cash payments. Both also require the business to have a business credit card processing system. Without small business credit card services, the businesses are unable to accept credit or debit cards. When businesses do not provide credit or debit card payment as an option, they tend to lose customers. People simply do not have cash on them.
A business that offers credit card payment services must also ensure that their credit card payment processors are safe. Data breaches are a common thing today. Many stores have already been hacked, and every day, we hear about new, larger chains who have suffered a breach. Customers want to know that their information is safe and that is a breach does occur, they will be offered compensation or some type of protection from identity theft. Data breaches totaled 1,540 worldwide in 2014, up 46% from the year before. It led to the compromise of more than one billion data records.
Although businesses may not be able to guarantee business credit card machines safety, they can do everything available to improve the security of their small business credit card services. They can stay compliant with all minimum safety regulations and continually update their credit card software for small business. With new data breaches constantly occurring, credit card companies are constantly working on improvements to prevent this from occurring. This is why it is important for a small business to always stay up to date with their small business credit card services software. Older versions of the software may be able to be breached, leaving customers at risk. Finally, businesses and credit card companies should be prepared to provide identity and breach protection to those customers? whose information has been taken. This could include credit monitoring services or payment protection services. This is important as much of shopping today is done online. Online comparison shopping sites attract 72 million monthly visitors.
Credit card and debit cards are the preferred payment method for many. It offers a level of convenience and protection that cash does not. It is rare that you will even find many customers with cash in their pockets today. Small businesses need to ensure that they have the ability to accept credit card payments, or they may be at risk of losing customers. They also need to ensure that their credit card processors are safe and secure. There are too many data breaches today. If a customer is breached, the business and the credit card company needs to offer some type of credit protection to their customer.