The Benefits of Real-Time Payments for Your Business
Today, we’re living in an extremely fast-paced world. We’re used to getting everything instantly: just like our microwaves heat up our food in a matter of seconds, we cannot imagine our lives without accessing information with a quick Google search or getting our banking done with a couple of clicks. Indeed, technology has sped up the modern world, and if any business lags behind and fails to provide prompt solutions to customer needs, they will likely be left in the past. Without a doubt, modern payment solutions are some of the primary concerns of customers.
Today, everyone is walking around with a smartphone in their hands, so it is not difficult to understand why real-time payment methods are becoming more and more popular. Payment not only needs to be fast, though, but also secure. Implementing real-time payment solutions that fulfill both of these criteria has a number of benefits for your business. Here are some of them.
Catering to customer preference
As we already mentioned briefly, customers like convenience. Real-time payment methods provide them with exactly that. Real-time payment is fast and easy. In addition, customers likely already use these solutions to pay their bills and send money to their friends and family, so they are more than familiar with their workings. If your business can improve the customers’ experience through a smoother transaction process, they will surely remember and appreciate it.
Better cash flow
Especially for small and medium-sized businesses, cash flow can be a real problem. Your business may be making profits, but you might still end up with empty hands when a crucial payment needs to be made, leading to taking out a loan, etc. There are many ways to improve the cash flow of a business, and implementing real-time payment solutions could be one of them. If payments are made instantly, the issues arising from late payments and hold-ups become a non-issue.
Contactless is the future
Recently, contactless payment solutions have gained considerable traction. In the times of a pandemic that can easily spread with touch, the fewer hands a payment tool goes through, the better. Contactless payment solutions use NFC technology, which is actually safer than the technology your bank card uses. It is harder to hack, so people prefer it for this reason as well. All in all, offering this safe payment method will protect not only your customers but also you and your employees.
Affordable
Naturally, a better cash flow will in itself already boost the finances of your business. However, implementing real-time payments is beneficial for one more reason, which is that it can also save you money. First of all, with real-time payments, you steer clear of the possibility of the payment being delayed and ending up having to pay a late fee. When time is tight, this solution is a fast one that will spare you from some stress. In addition, it must be mentioned that each payment method has its own fees. When exploring real-time payment methods, you will find that some of them have lower fees, which will allow you to keep a better profit margin. For instance, implementing the aforementioned contactless option won’t cost you any extra!
Maintaining a competitive edge
Today, keeping up with technology is ever so important. Many businesses find that implementing real-time payment in their operations is crucial for maintaining their competitive advantage. As already discussed, this is what customers demand. If you don’t have the means to figure it all out on your own, you can look up merchant services and inform yourself well about what their implementation entails and what the solutions themselves include. It’s worth going the extra mile as you will be able to expand your current capacities by leaps and bounds.
Safe and convenient
Real-time payments have one more advantage that we must mention. The fact of the matter is that these payments are highly safe, in several ways. We already talked about contactless payments preventing credit card information theft. In addition to that, it must be mentioned that real-time payment is irrevocable. The technology is designed in a way that lowers the chance of payment failure due to a lack of funds. This way, your business will steer clear of payment exceptions and fraud attempts.
Better data processing
Finally, real-time payments can make your business’s life a tad easier for another reason. Real-time payments communicate a lot more information than non-real-time, traditional transactions. A real-time payment will provide your business with information about the invoice instantly. Needless to say, in a data-driven world, this information will not only remove some additional labor from your shoulders, but it can be an important tool in your further decision-making process as well.
Real-time payments are the present and future, so there is no dilemma about whether you should implement this option in your business. The only question is how you will do that.