Boost Your Sales by Accepting Credit Cards

Accepting credit cards is a must for entrepreneurs and small companies in today's business environment. There are numerous social, demographic, and technological factors that make plastic the payment of choice.

According to one estimate, businesses forfeit up to 80 percent of consumer impulse buys if they don't accept credit cards. To understand the growth in credit card use, it's important to grasp the reasons for its popularity. Consumers typically use cards for the following reasons:

• They don't want to carry cash.
• They want to save cash in hand.
• They want to gain loyalty points (such as airline miles).
• They are making a large purchase.
• They are looking to float money in a bank account.
• They are making a reimbursable purchase for a company.

As credit card use grows in the real world, it already dominates the world of Web shopping. For online purchases, 85 percent of shoppers pay with a credit card.

Credit cards play a large role in business-to-business transactions, too. Accepting business credit cards gives you an advantage over suppliers that do not. More and more small businesses use credit cards to pay for B2B purchases, such as office supplies, smaller equipment, and so on. Larger companies are also streamlining their buying processes by using business credit cards for indirect purchasing. Each business card transaction shaves a reported $50 to $100 off purchasing costs. That's something to keep in mind if your business works with large companies.

Market research indicates that consumers view credit cards as lifestyle enhancers. Paying with plastic is becoming increasingly popular for even routine bills such as gas and electricity. Check and paper credit use has fallen as consumers become more comfortable with the security of online credit card transactions and the rise of operations such as PayPal.