A recent study revealed that 1/4 of cash- and cheque-only small businesses in Canada think their customers don’t want to pay by card, even though nearly 80% revealed to prefer paying with cards. In addition, Payments Canada revealed that Canadian small businesses want more payment options like e-wallets and contactless tap, yet they remain the heaviest cheque users. The question remains: why?

Making the switch to credit card processing can cost time and money. For a small business, they don’t have the manpower to fill out all of the forms and perform background checks to sign up. There is also a fear of getting locked into a contract, but this doesn’t always have to be the case.

Being scared to modernize can cost a business revenue – if they aren’t accepting credit card payments, they are missing out on sales and may not even realize it. Listening to what customers want, as opposed to what you think they want, can increase revenue and bring in more sales. Case in point: 68% of Canadians say they would be more likely to buy from a local business if they could pay by card.

Small businesses should take a cue from large businesses, where nearly all of them accept cards, while only 2/3 of small or medium-sized businesses do. Listening to what customers want, and looking at what customers you’re missing out on is the key to modernization and business success.

Sources:

https://www.payments.ca/about-us/news/modern-payments-smaller-businesses-simply-good-business-according-square

https://squareup.com/ca/news/cards-are-king-a-majority-of-canadians-are-now-card-first-buyers

https://www.bankofcanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/boc-review-autumn2017-fung.pdf