Online business ideas, tips and tools for lifestyle entrepreneurs

Categories


/ 0

Online Business

A Stitch in Time – are you Getting Left Behind with Payment Technologies?

14th January 2016

When was the last time you paid for something using a cheque book? No I can’t remember either! Even if you wanted to use a cheque nowadays, the fact is that you would probably struggle to find any businesses that still accept them. They are, for all intents and purposes redundant! Technology has brought about better, quicker and more efficient ways of making payments.

Keeping up with the Joneses

In order to build and maintain a successful business it is really important that you keep up with the times and when it comes to payment technology, the times are changing very quickly. Near Field Technology may not be a term that you are familiar with, but you have probably seen someone using it without realising.

Have you ever been in a bar or a shop and watched someone pay their bill without even inserting their debit card? Yes, then you have witnessed near field technology at work. It speeds up the payment process by eliminating the need for you to insert your payment card into a reader or the need to remember and enter a pin number.

Such contactless payments are only used for transactions under the amount of £30, but that may all be about to change.

It is not inconceivable that in the near future we will be paying for goods and services by using technology that reads our fingerprints or even by a retina scan. Indeed, if you own a new Apple smart phone you will be aware that fingerprint recognition technology already exists.

Out with the old and in with the new

If your business doesn’t have debit and credit card terminals yet, then now is the time to act, because from your customers point of view, you may already look to be a little behind the times. The process of acquiring a debit and credit card terminal is quick and simple if you use a reputable company like Card Cutters, who can offer you a range of terminals at very competitive rates.

There are several differing terminals to choose from, for example, static terminals that sit on a counter, mobile terminals that can be carried around you business premises and even mobile GPS terminals that are ideal if you do business around the country at shows or exhibitions.

Making mobile payment

The new scheme of things

Merchant services breath new life into your business, making it more efficient, streamlining processes and saving you time and money. As well as supplying debit and credit card terminals Card Cutters can also provide virtual terminal payment services. These give your business the capability to make MOTO transactions, where clients pay you over the phone, through the internet or even via fax. Virtual terminal payment services also allow you to send receipts, view the status of payments and access payment histories.

Virtual terminal payment services operate through the Internet, you login to your online account and within minutes can be taking payments from clients. Customer card details are stored off-site so you can save money by not becoming PCI certified and thus resulting in significant overall business financial savings.

The brave new world

It may not be long before cash is rarely used and all of our banking and commerce takes place on the web and those of us who don’t keep up with the changes will find it more and more difficult to conduct our everyday lives effectively. When it comes to payment technology, even if you are a techno sceptic or aren’t confident with the digital world, it makes good business sense to let down your guard and embrace the new technology. When you do, your business will be more dynamic, more efficient and will make you more money.

Ivan Widjaya is the owner of AsepOnde.com, as well as the founder of several online businesses: PrevisoMedia.com, Noobpreneur.com and Uptourist.com. He runs his business from anywhere, anytime he wants.

Comments

There are no comments.