Payments have come a long way from cash and cards. As a business owner, to accept payments in as wide a variety of forms as possible is just good customer service. That’s why it’s important to stay up to date on developments in the world of payment solutions. With this guide, we’ll tell you more about why it’s so important to stay up to date, and then give you some tips showing how it’s done.

Why is it Important to Stay Up to Date?

Staying up to date on payment methods is important because it helps you know your customers better. By knowing your customers, you can increase sales. One of the keys is that by staying up to date on payment methods your customers want to use, you can give them more ways to pay than your competitors do.

Nowadays, these can include a ton of different options. In addition to paying with credit and debit cards, customers can use mobile payments through apps like Apple Pay, using contactless payment microchips, social media payments, and other technological advances.

One of the big benefits to offering these sorts of payment types is increasing your customers’ loyalty. When customers decide they love a new way to pay, whether it’s through a mobile app on iOS or Android, or some other way, you offering this payment method through your payment processor will keep them coming back.

On that same token, if they decide they have a new favorite payment method that you don’t offer, they may start shopping at a competitor that offers it. Keeping up can get you more loyal customers, and not keeping up could make you lose customers that you’ve had for years. With all the choices of payment method and merchants that customers have, it will impress customers to show that, even as a small business, you are on the cutting edge.

How Do I Stay Up to Date?

Know Your Business

Ask yourself the following question: Do you need embedded online payment solutions in an ordering system? Knowing the needs of your business is the first step to knowing what payment solutions you need to offer your customers.

Determine what payment types your customers want, and then figure out what upgrades you need in order to offer them. You can do this just by asking, getting an idea of what their expectations are. To accommodate them, you might need new software or hardware.

For example do you need an embedded link to an online payments portal? Do you need a mobile wallet reader? These are all potential equipment upgrades that might come into play.

Also note that to accept payment types beyond credit card payments, there may be different fees you have to pay. Mobile wallets may not come with fees from a credit card processor, but they may have a unique transaction fee all their own. Similarly, digital wallets and other types of online accounts might also require investing in special equipment. Do your research to determine how much these fees will cost versus processing credit card transactions. You might find that offering alternative payment processing solutions could actually save you money.

Know Your Customer

We touched on knowing your customers’ wants and needs earlier, as it’s one of the most important factors for what payment solutions your business should adopt. By knowing how your target market prefers to pay, you can make sure you’re satisfying their needs.

Talk to Your Payment Processing Provider

Your payment processing or payment gateway provider can help you get set up with the hardware and software you need to allow your customers to pay using their preferred method. They will help you figure out what solutions you need to add to your arsenal in order to satisfy your customers.

Final Thoughts

Payment solutions have evolved far beyond Visa and Mastercard. Five or ten years from now, payment methods will be common that hardly anyone today has heard of—if they even exist yet at all. Staying up-to-date means retaining the customers you have right now, and snagging new tech-savvy customers who will become loyal to your business for years to come.