Payline knows that in this day and age, accepting credit cards or payments via a mobile app is becoming a more common and preferred method of payment over physical cash. The practice of businesses accepting credit cards exclusively and choosing to go cashless may become more than just the tendency of consumers, but rather the sole way of processing payments by businesses.
Currently, cash still makes up more than a quarter of all U.S. payments. However, credit cards still pull ahead by accounting for 53% of payments. The Chicago Tribune reported that nations like Sweden, Singapore, and the Netherlands have already embraced a mostly cashless system. Sweden notes that now only one in five payments are made with cash as credit cards dominate their commerce. The United States is now on the verge of following in Sweden’s footsteps reaching for plastic instead of paper, but is there a benefit to a completely plastic financial landscape?
Looking at the benefits of cashless transactions, there is one that stands out: credit card transactions are simple and straightforward for all involved parties. There is no great worry of inaccuracy in the amount being paid, or worry about hanging onto receipts in an overcrowded section of your wallet. Also, with the help of online payment processing solutions offered by processors like Payline, merchants don’t have to force a lengthy checkout process onto their customers. Other benefits of merchants choosing to go cashless and embracing the digital that comes with accepting credit cards include being able to track the following:
- Budgets
- Automatic transaction records
- Bank accounts
- Credit card balances.
The convenience of having all of this information in one place is one of the largest benefits of exclusively accepting credit cards. However, even keeping in mind this benefit of a pro-plastic future, there are always two sides to everything.
The pro-cash side has one major advantage to consider: the possibility of information being stolen is greatly minimized by having cash on hand. US News looks at the dangers of completely disregarding physical cash by comparing it to going without water; we can’t be without it and will always have a need for it. Keeping physical currency takes away much of the risk of identity and financial theft that is common with credit cards and online accounts, and cash still enables both consumers and merchants to keep track of and manage their financial security personally. The convenience, however, of online record keeping and process streamlining that choosing to go cashless by accepting credit cards provides is hard to beat.
It could be a while before consumers and businesses make the decision on payment preference, but new developments are always around the corner. Payline has your back with credit card security and making your payment processing as simple as possible for you and your consumers.
This piece was written by Lauren Minning, Content Specialist at Payline Data
