The Business Benefits of Accepting Wireless Credit Card Payments

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Contributed by Angie Mansfield

As of May 2012, there were more than 8.8 million smartphone users in Australia. With releases of Apple's iPhone 5 and newer Android devices, that number was set to grow even more, right through 2013. With full-featured web browsers and powerful shopping apps on these devices, more and more people are doing their buying on the fly.

 Add to the fact that, as of 2011, there were more than 14.85 million open credit card accounts in Australia, accounting for 1.63 billion transactions in a single year. Most banks offer rewards credit cards, further encouraging consumers to choose cards over cash and checks when making purchases.

 But, perhaps most importantly, studies show that you could be making a lot more money by accepting cards than you are without them.

 Businesses that adopt credit card processing show a 30 per cent or greater increase in sales, and card purchases are, on average, three to four times higher than cash or check purchases.

 Add these stats together, and you've got a powerful argument for accepting credit cards for your goods and services.

 Reasons to Say "Yes" to Cards

 There are several strong arguments for accepting credit cards:

•  You'll look more legitimate to consumers. A business that accepts credit card payments looks more established than one that doesn't.
• You can cut down on costs associated with bounced checks and collections.
• Studies have shown that customers tend to spend more and make more impulse purchases when paying with a credit card. They're also more likely to take you up on upsell offers, further increasing your bottom line.

 The Wireless Revolution

 The next step in accepting credit cards is using wireless card processing.

 This involves using a compact, wireless credit card machine that sends encrypted data over a wireless network to process credit card transactions.

 The benefits of wireless credit card processing include:

•  Compact, portable terminals that you can carry with you to accept payments on the go.
• No need for a dedicated phone line, eliminating one of your monthly expenses.
• The ability to accept payments wherever you want to do business: trade shows, fairs, sporting events...even in-home sales.

 The type of credit card processing merchant you choose will depend on the type of business you have.

 If you work primarily in a brick-and-mortar store, and don't make sales when you're out and about, then a classic, phone line-tethered terminal might work for you.

 But if you want to save costs and be able to take your products to your customers, then wireless is really the only choice.

About the Author

Angie Mansfield writes about a range of business topics, including why you should look into a wireless credit card machine.