Have a cashless christmas and a digital new year!

With Christmas nearly upon us, we felt that now would be the perfect time to countdown the 12 days! We’ll run through each day by looking at all the reasons you should go digital for this Christmas and the new year!

(1) Speedier checkouts

Digital payments allow customers to pay for products much quicker than cash. Mastercard found that contactless transactions were as much as 10 times faster than other in-person payments.

“Our customer's favourite way to pay is contactless, it's a lot quicker and easier for them. Especially when in the bar and people are buying drinks and doing rounds for each other, or if customer's want to split a bill, contactless is much more efficient for them.” Greg Tarrant, The George Inn

Customers not only love faster transactions but so will your business. You can increase the sales you process every hour whilst shorter queues will ensure customers always stay to purchase their chosen products.

(2) Increased spending

Numerous studies have shown that people spend more when using cards when compared to cash. Focus on card payments and you will see your sales increase as a result.

When customers are spending cash they are much more likely to control their spending because they are wary of going over what they’re carrying.

With cards, research has shown that paying with something other than cash “hurts less” which means customers are more likely to spend more in store.

(3) Immediate payments

With digital payments such as QR codes and payment links you can acquire payment much quicker. This is ideal if you find yourself waiting for payments all the time.

“It can be frustrating waiting for clients to pay for projects that have recently been completed. Sometimes I have to wait days for bank transfers and sometimes find myself having to remind customers to pay for projects.” Brad Hynon-Anderson, Hynon Painters & Decorators

"A good portion of clients like to wait a few days before finalising payments. Sometimes I can end up waiting weeks.” Tony Stallard, Tony Stallard Murals

When a project is completed you or your staff can simply present your smartphone which acts as a mobile POS. Your customer can then pay immediately using credit cards, debit cards or any of the other 25 payment methods on our platform.

(4) Fewer security risks

Dealing with cash presents a number of challenges. Firstly, there is always the risk that someone can remove cash from the register.

If criminals know you have a lot of cash on site there is also the possibility that they may try to steal from your store.

With digital payments, all of these problems are eliminated. All of the payments that are processed through our platform are encrypted and tokenized.

This means no sensitive information is ever stored on the platform. Data that is sent between networks is turned into random numbers, so even if criminals do get their hands on it, they cannot use it.

(5) Smoother transactions

It is a fact of doing business that sometimes you will have to wait for your invoices to be paid. However with digital payments you can streamline this process.

With digital invoices you can add remote payment links to reduce any barriers that prevent customers from paying.

By implementing a fast and efficient payment system you can reduce waiting times and ensure you get your funds as soon as possible.

“Over the years the number of businesses paying in cash has significantly decreased. More companies are moving towards digital payments , which means having an efficient invoicing and payment system is integral to an effective running of our business.” Tom Dawson, SHM Direct

(6) Reach more customers

Alternative payment methods refer to any non-credit card/debit card payment. There are hundreds of these different payments used across the world with some more popular than Visa and Mastercard.

By using digital payments you can easily expand your range of accepted payment methods. If you have international customers and wish to target this market it is essential that you cater to all their demands.

With Pomelo Pay’s payment platform you will be able to immediately accept over 25 payment methods. International customers and tourists in the UK will be able to pay for your products with ease.

(7) Seamless currency conversion

If you sell products around the world or work with suppliers abroad it can be a hassle converting currencies.

With Pomelo Pay currencies are converted automatically. If someone purchases your product in the US for example, the bank who issued the card will convert the amount into dollars automatically for your customer, while you will receive the money as usual in pound sterling.

Digital payments allow you to seamlessly connect with customers abroad, which increases conversions and improves your bottom line.

(8) Less administration

If you work with lots of cash, administration can be a real burden. You need staff who are responsible for accounting and updating financial records.

Not only is this burdensome, but errors can occur. If a problem does happen, it can take a lot of time to locate where this error has occurred.

With digital payments, much of the manual labour required is completed automatically by the payments platform.

Digitalisation eliminates errors and allows you to cut costs as staff can be moved into other areas of your business.

(9) Better data

By connecting all of your sales channels onto one platform, you can take advantage of even better data to make better business decisions.

With Pomelo’s Pay unified commerce, everything connects seamlessly to give you the clearest snapshot of your business at any moment in time.

With cash it takes a lot longer to record every transaction and upload it. Human error can also reduce the efficiency of this.

Relying on digital payments will allow you to make the best decisions with the knowledge that you are doing it for all the right reasons.

(10) Safer payments

Covid-19 looks like it will be staying with us for the foreseeable future so it is even more important that customers are able to pay safely.

With digital payments customers don’t have to worry about touching the same surfaces as staff. They can also socially distance by paying for purchases without queuing.

Digital payments allow shops to follow government guidelines and help to limit the risk of covid-19 transmission.

(11) Fewer staff required

With cash you need a number of staff and managers to oversee transactions. Digital payments allow you to automate everything.

QR codes can be placed around stores to enable customers to pay for products and services by themselves. This means fewer staff are required to take and process orders.

Fewer staff mean that you can save on running costs, reduce the time it takes to fulfil orders and move employees onto other areas of the business.

(12) Speed up ordering

If you manage a bar, restaurant or pop-up shop, it takes time for customers to order their food, pay for it and then for the kitchen to cook it.

Digital payments allow customers to drastically reduce the time it takes for orders to be fulfilled as they can take care of ordering themselves.

Staff don’t have to oversee transactions and they don’t have to handle any cash. With digital payments, hospitality venues can speed up processes and increase efficiencies.

What does the new year mean for digital payments

“Payments will become more contactless by mobile phones in 2022, the pandemic really pushed this forward and people have really seen the benefit of how easy it can be used.” Greg Tarrant, The George Inn

“Less cash will be in circulation with even more contactless solutions I'm sure. This will be mostly driven by the pandemic, advancing technology and the younger generation coming through the industry.” Tom Dawson, SHM Direct

2021 has been an exciting year for us as even more individuals and businesses realised how effective digital payments can be.

The coming year will be an even more exciting year as we bring out even more products and help even more businesses make a successful digital transformation.