2 Success depends on simplifying the payment process in order to improve customer experience, Luke Griffiths
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Since May 2015, consumers have been making more cashless payments than payments using notes and coins5. 58% even claim they’d be more likely to shop elsewhere if it offered them more ways to pay6.
For small businesses, this means it’s increasingly important to be able to accept debit and credit cards. But it’s not just about cards. Contactless is booming. In 2015, 9% of consumers rated contactless highly, while in 2016 this number was 14%7.
These numbers are set to rise, with MasterCard and Visa mandating that all new point of sale terminals are able to accept contactless transactions. The same will apply to existing terminals by early 2020.
Sage Pay offers a range of card terminals with a contactless feature that you can switch on or off to suit your needs.
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Here are some clever shortcuts our developers recommend adding to your payment page:
Especially in the run-up to events like Golden Week, it’s worth thinking about how you can make it easy for international visitors to shop with you.
Dynamic currency conversion is a service that allows shoppers to pay instantly in the currency of their choice. You’ll still receive the settlement in your own currency, but the whole experience is that bit faster and easier for your customers.
Got a basement shop? You might want to consider card terminals that run off Wi-Fi instead of mobile networks.
Need a machine that won’t let you down during your busiest periods? Ask suppliers about their uptime. Sage Pay offers 99.99% gateway reliability.
Need to get card machines set up quickly and cheaply? Standalone terminals could be the answer. Simply turn the terminal on, connect to the payments gateway and you’re ready to go. No technical assistance required (although we’re always only a phone call away if you do need support).
There has been a 68% increase in mobile payments in the last six months8. Here are a few tips from our top developers to help you boost your mobile sales:
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The business owners we talk to don’t have time to conduct in-depth research into payment trends. However, new technologies are being released at a rate of knots.
For example, smartphone payments have quickly gone from cutting-edge innovation to high-street standard. Sage Pay customers have been using Apple Pay since the first day it went live in the UK.
Even if you’re not a customer, our annual Payments Landscape Report is a great way to stay up-to-date during quieter times. It gives you everything you need to know about payment trends in one place.
When the online orders are flying in, the last thing you have time for is fraud. Sadly, UK SMBs are losing a total of £9.4bn each year to theft and human error9.
One way to get around this is to pick a payment gateway that comes with real-time analytics. Sage Pay customers have access to an online portal which displays all their online transactions – along with the associated fraud risk.
They can then use that data to arm their logistics people with the insights they need to cancel high-risk orders before the goods are packaged and shipped.
9 Calculation based on the number of SMBs in the UK as of Nov 2015 and research by Viga (from Landscape Report)
Payment gateway downtime shouldn’t be a regular problem for your business. But even if it only happens once in a blue moon, make sure your staff are prepared. There’s nothing worse than having a customer who is ready to pay, but can’t – whether it’s online or face-to-face.
The solution to this could be as simple as printing out the phone number that staff need to call if they have any issues and putting it somewhere visible. Sage Pay customers can call our dedicated support team 24/7 on 0845 485 2537.
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