3 Problems With Running A Cash-Only Business

Are you still running a cash-only business? If so, we have just one question for you: why? Rachel Blakely-Gray of Patriot Software reveals, “the majority of consumers (77%) prefer using debit and credit cards. That number continues to grow. Running a cash-only business might alienate a large percentage of consumers from buying from you.”

We can’t imagine you’re getting the kind of support from consumers that you would be getting if you simply opened up to accepting credit cards and debit cards. Becoming plastic-friendly can help you to significantly grow your business. Continuing to a run a cash-only business, on the other hand, can lead to a number of problems.

Here are three:

1. You inconvenience the majority of your shoppers.

What happens when people don’t have enough cash on them? They have to go to the ATM to get some more. This is a time-wasting activity. A debit card can be used to pay for purchases just as easily as it can to retrieve money from a machine. One requires no effort while the other requires customers to leave your store. How many of them actually come back?

“Maybe you’ve eaten dinner at a mom and pop restaurant,” writes Blakely-Gray, “When you went to pay, the cashier told you they don’t take cards. You ran across the street to an ATM only to receive an unexpected withdrawal fee. Inconvenient, right? Accepting only cash can be just as inconvenient for your customers and prevent you from making a sale. And if a customer doesn’t have cash on hand, they might not want to come back to your business.”

2. You miss out on a ton of sales.

There’s no clearer way to put it. Canadians prefer credit and debit. When you place that “cash only” sign at the front of your store, you’re practically yelling “go away” to the vast majority of shoppers out there. On Business.com, Jaimie Yun illustrates this point by telling the story of a business owner named Beth.

“Beth owns a boutique, and every day shoppers fill her store,” writes Yun, “But time and again, when they get to the cash register and see her ‘cash only’ sign, they sigh, put their items back, and walk out of the store. She\’s missing out on serious sales opportunities. According to Bankrate, 9% of people don\’t carry cash on them at all…And of those that do, 40% carry $20 or less. That\’s a lot of people who can\’t buy from you if you refuse to accept credit cards.”

3. You take a big security risk.

When you only accept cash, you can only hope that the cash you’re receiving isn’t counterfeit. In many cases, merchants are left with bogus bills and lost merchandise due to their “cash only” ways. Not to mention, as Blakely-Gray reminds us, keeping large amounts of cash in your business can open you up to theft.

“When you accept only cash, you end up with large amounts of cash in the register at the end of the day,” she notes, “Your property might become a target to thieves, especially if you promote the fact that you are a cash-only business on your storefront.”

Are you ready to drop your “cash only” ways? At Canadian POS, we believe there’s no better way to accept credit cards and debit cards than with the revolutionary Poynt Smart Terminal. Call us at 1-877-748-2884 or email us at info@localhost to learn more!