The shift towards electronic payments has been ongoing for some time, with more and more consumers and businesses moving away from cash and checks towards digital payment methods. However, not all merchants have made the switch. For those who still rely on cash and check payments, the benefits of electronic payments can be significant, including increased efficiency, improved cash flow, and reduced risk of fraud. The question is how to really motivate merchants to convert to electronic payments? There are a number of key points you can use to encourage merchants to embrace the digital age.
Highlight the Benefits
One of the most effective ways to motivate merchants to convert to electronic payments is to highlight the benefits. This can include improved cash flow, faster payments, reduced risk of fraud, and increased efficiency. Electronic payments can also aid your merchants in providing better customer experience, as customers increasingly expect to be able to pay with their preferred payment method, whether it’s a credit card, mobile wallet, or other digital payment method. Merchants who offer more payment methods have a greater conversion rate and purchase success.
Address Concerns and Barriers
Many merchants may be hesitant to convert to electronic payments due to concerns about costs, security, or complexity. You can help merchants overcome these concerns, by providing clear information about the costs and benefits of electronic payments, as well as the security measures in place to protect transactions. To make sure you have convinced merchants that digital payments is right for them you must provide training and support to help them understand how to use electronic payment systems effectively. Training the merchants enables them to better help their customers and creates a win-win situation for all.
Provide Incentives
Another effective way to motivate merchants to convert to electronic payments is to provide incentives. You can offer lower transaction fees for electronic payments, or provide other rewards or incentives for merchants who make the switch. To enable incentives you should work with your payment processor to define a program that can offer cash back or other rewards programs to encourage new merchants to use their electronic payment services.
Make it Easy to Switch
It’s important to make it easy for merchants to switch to electronic payments. You need to provide clear information about how to get started, as well as offer support and training to help merchants understand how to use electronic payment systems effectively. Your merchants will need tools and resources, such as online payment portals and mobile payment that require little development from the merchant to get up and running quickly with electronic payment. Using open source APIs, mobile apps or providing hosted ecommerce solutions can expedite the merchant’s time to market for taking online payments.
Motivating merchants to convert to electronic payments requires a combination of education, support, incentives, and ease of use. By highlighting the benefits of electronic payments, addressing concerns and barriers, providing incentives, and making it easy to switch, you can help more merchants take advantage of the efficiency and security of electronic payment methods. Ultimately, the shift towards electronic payments is likely to continue, and by helping merchants make the transition you both will be better positioned for success in the long run.
If you would like more help in devising strategies to help increase electronic payment acceptance please reach out to me as I am always happy to talk payments.
