In today’s world, credit cards are the lifeblood of modern businesses. Customers like credit cards because it saves them a trip to the bank or the ATM.  Most medium to large brick and mortar and online stores accept credit cards. However, the decision to accept credit cards may be more difficult for smaller business.

Why Businesses Accept Credit Cards

Most customers prefer to pay by card because consumers want to choose the method of payment that’s most convenient and beneficial for them. Credit cards are not only easy to use in a variety of capacities, but many cards offer points, mileage, or rewards that further encourage the cardholder to use their credit cards whenever making a purchase. It also makes it easy for personally bookkeeping your transactions made on the card. Another perk about businesses accepting credit cards can be processed electronically and settled quickly, with proceeds typically deposited into your bank account quickly and efficiently. This means no more waiting for checks to clear, no more billing and waiting to collect from your customers, and less cash to handle. Lastly, this way, customers tend to spend more money.  Shoppers like being able to complete transactions quickly and easily without having to write a check or run to the ATM, which limit their expenditures to their available funds. Studies have indicated that customers tend to spend more when they’re paying with credit cards, especially in regards to impulse purchases.

 

What Card Payment Solution is Right for My Business?

Each industry interacts differently with customers. Some collect payment in person, some interact online, and some have a mix of many types of transactions. We have created a suite of card solution products specific to each industry as a helpful guide for the most common ways businesses are using merchant services. If you are curious about what the right solution is for you, take a look at our industry-specific pages:

Restaurant
Retail
Healthcare
Hospitality & Lodging
Manufacturing
Contractors
Professional Services
E-Commerce
Small Business

What are the Risks Associated with Different Forms of Payment?

Listed below are the risks corresponding to the different forms of payment you can use:

Risks for Cash – Loss, Errors, Time/effort of Deposits/ Bookkeeping

Risks for Checks – Bouncing, Time/effort of Deposits/ Bookkeeping

Risks for Credit Cards – Disputes, Data Breaches

Risks for Barter – Profitability, Cash Flow, Time/effort of Bookkeeping

 

How to Decide Between All the Choices

If you do not know which form of payment is best for you, here are two common questions that include the following:

• What should I avoid?
• What contract terms should I seek?

Certain things to consider avoiding are monthly minimum processing fees and solutions that only have 1 option for card processing, otherwise you will be charged the difference as a fine. You also want to be aware of terminal/ equipment leases and contracts that renew for more than 1 month at a time. As far as contract terms, month-to-month contract terms of $0.00 early cancellation fees with most service agreements last about 3 years.

Service/Support Expectations

• Pay-As-You-Go (PayPal, Stripe, Square, etc. )
  • Email & phone support service centers
  • Not exactly aiming for the same definition of client satisfaction as you might be
• Standard Accounts
  • Local (this is what we provide) = usually a high-touch service, motivated to solve problems quickly, real people
  • National = usually email & phone support centers

 

No business owner likes paying credit card processing fees however, offering the payment options your customers are asking for seems like it makes good business sense.

 

About Us

Motus Financial, located in Sun Prairie, WI provides Point-of-Sale (POS) technology solutions and credit card processing services. Locally owned and operated Motus Financial provides a complete suite of POS technology services to assist merchants in processing payment from credit cards, debit cards, and checks.  Motus financial can also provide check processing as well as a customized gift card program for your business.

For more information, please contact us at 608-819-8666 or check out our website at www.motuscc.com and we look forward to assisting you.