subject: Why Your Business Needs A Merchant Account. [print this page] Why do I need a merchant accountWhy do I need a merchant account. Lets see, total credit cards in the US: 576.4 million, total debit cards 507 million. Because there are only 350 million people in the US, hopefully you start to get the picture. Accepting credit cards can be a brand new way to grow your business, offering a larger range of payment options will grow customer base and offer greater profits. To really understand how opening a merchant account and accepting credit cards can help your business, you need to understand the advantages from a customers viewpoint. The following overview explores some of the benefits of cards from a common since standpoint to help you understand just how valuable a merchant account can be.
Credit cards give customers the ability to determine how they will manage their finances. Unlike cash which must be paid in a lump sum at the point of sale, credit allows buyers the decision to pay all at once or pay a little bit over time, which allows them to make larger purchases than they could afford with cash, and also helps fit purchases into an established monthly budget.
Unlike cash, that requires shoppers to carefully plan each and every shopping trip, credit cards can be used for a wide range of values, from small, last-minute purchases to vacations and major expenditures.
Credit cards allow customers the opportunity to make impulse purchases, a point I touched on briefly in the last paragraph. The ability to purchase something they had not planned for in a given shopping trip is a super important reason to take credit cards, as they will have access to their credit lines.
If stolen or lost, credit cards can be replaced quickly, with one simple phone call. Cash, if lost on the other hand is gone. Also, many credit card companies offer valuable incentives, such as free airfare for those who use their credit cards on a regular basis. On some cards points are accrued every time a card is used, even for small purchases. It makes since that customers want to take advantage of these very valuable incentives
Credit scores are used primarily for loan acquisition, however your credit score affects your ability to find a mortgage, and to obtain insurance, and sometimes as an job screening tool. Customers are (inundated|engulfed} with emails and other messages, that acclaim the excellence of a high and healthy credit score. These same consumers understand that the wise use of credit cards is one of the fastest ways to gain a healthy credit score and report, meaning customers use cards to achieve high credit scores.
The preceding are just a few of the many enjoyment that cards offer to the customers that use them. What do these advantages mean to the growth and success of your business? More ways to pay means, more profits. Consumer studies have suggested that customers that use credit cards are more frequent shoppers than cash buyers, and that they tend to spend more while shopping than those who used cash. Credit card users also make considerably more impulse purchases, those impulse purchases are of a greater value than those made by cash buyers. What's more, credit card users also tend to buy big ticket items far more frequently than cash buyers.
Businesses will almost certainly boost their customer base by accepting credit cards. Spending studies show consumer use of card is on the rise; as it is credit cards have been shown to increase sales from 20 to 50 percent, especially if you operate online, accepting credit cards is essential. As consumers reach for their credit cards as the result of the factors described above, you can expect your customer base to grow. In fact, once they begin accepting, most businesses report significant gains in their customer base within the first few months. Additional studies prove that consumers place a much greater value and a greater degree of trust in businesses that accept credit cards for purchases. To these consumers, businesses that accept cards appear more trustworthy and more financially stable, and more legitimate,than those that accept only cash. Even new businesses appear more legitimate and trustworthy than established businesses when they begin accepting cards.
