John checked his wallet before he left his home, saw that his credit card was there and went off to pick up his date, to eat at a local restaurant. It was their first date and John wanted to make a good impression. After dessert, John offered to pay for the bill and provided his credit card. The waiter smiled and apologetically mentioned, “We do not take credit cards sir, however, there is an ATM two miles away”.
While this scenario not only created an uncomfortable moment for John, this sort of business practice is at a disadvantage when compared to other businesses that offer a wide range of payment methods.This is especially true in today’s economic environment where having the ability to accept various contactless payment methods have proven to be more beneficial.
Here are several ways you can make it easier for your customers to pay their invoices.
Multiple Payment Options
Research by comScore indicates that 56% of shoppers expect a variety of payment options. Multiple payment options allow customers to quickly pay on time due to the added convenience, which in turn gets your business paid faster. This is significant considering that multiple payment options are also becoming a cultural norm.
While it is not necessary to offer every single payment method available, it is important to narrow down what type of payment method your customers are mostly using. In this way, you can avoid unnecessary expenditures to payment processors which are used infrequently.
With the necessary stay-at-home orders, many individuals are shopping online for their items. Businesses that accept various payment options are at an advantage, since customers are mainly paying with their available methods of payment. Due to the current economic environment, it has become difficult to complete mundane tasks, therefore customers are less likely to go out of their way to adopt new payment methods.
Seamless Payment Experience
Modern business owners are quickly adopting technology to improve their product offering, one such innovative product is a payment portal. Such platforms provide features that encourage self-service, where your customers can log in, view their transaction history, and make contactless payments at any time.
It is important to provide your customers a payment interface with a seamless design, where they can make contactless payments without being redirected to another page, avoiding confusion. Many platforms that provide payment portals allow you to add your own logo and branding, which is advantageous since it gives customers a familiar experience.
Conclusion
Reducing payment friction and maintaining proper communication is crucial to getting paid on time. By providing your customers with various payment options, along with a seamless payment experience and interface, you can not only provide a memorable customer experience, but your business will make higher conversions and more sales.
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