Does your small business need a boost?

Being a small business owner is a challenge, as you spend most of your time, energy and money on managing and growing your business. One way to make sure you reap the financial benefits of this hard work is to ensure you can accept modern payment methods.

The way Canadian buyers prefer to pay is changing, and that’s changing everything for those accepting payments. This affects anyone taking payments, whether you’re a business owner, accepting donations for a charity, or helping your children sell Girl Guide cookies.

Payments and point-of-sale company Square conducted a national study revealing the ways buyers prefer to pay. It highlights some valuable insights:

Wallets are getting lighter. Most of us are carrying less cash today than in the past. Canadian wallets are much lighter today, with an average of only $46.50. We also haven’t visited an ATM to get cash in over two weeks.

Buyers’ preference for cards and speed is underestimated. The study showed that nearly 80 percent of consumers prefer to pay by debit or credit card, and almost half list their top payment preference as tapping their card. Yet only 10 per cent of small businesses think their customers prefer tapping to pay.

Missing out and not even knowing it. Most troubling is that businesses and organizations frequently lose out on sales they never knew existed. Almost half of those surveyed avoid businesses where they must use cash, and nearly 70 percent are more likely to buy from a local business if they know they can pay using a card.

What’s holding buyers back from paying in their preferred way? It’s the mindset of some local businesses of doing business as usual. The vast majority of cash-and-cheque-only small businesses don’t think they’re missing out on sales by not accepting cards.

Learn about digital payment tools with no long-term contracts and clear pricing for your business, charitable organization or community event at square.ca.