Picture the following scenario. You’re standing behind the checkout counter of your small business, ready to make a sale. The customer in front of you pulls out his wallet. However, instead of a shiny credit card, he rummages through crumpled bills and loose change. He does this because there is no tap, swipe or online payment options. He lives in a world where he can only use cash.
Sounds like a nightmare, right? That would be the world we’d be living in if credit cards simply didn’t exist.
Without credit cards, consumer spending would change.
Just imagine credit cards disappearing from the face of the Earth. There would be an immediate shift in how consumers purchase goods and services. Think about the convenience that credit cards offer. They make the processing of transactions so much quicker and easier. This would be replaced by the annoying need to carry physical money or use outdated systems like cheques. But that would only be the tip of the iceberg.
Consumers would likely find themselves more cautious about spending. After all, credit cards allow for deferred payments. In other words, we don’t have to pay for what we buy today right away. Credit cards allow their users to extend payments, by making them to the credit cards issuers by future due dates. Without credit cards, shoppers would have to carefully plan each of their purchases based on the actual money they have in their wallets.
A cash-only world would only allow for in-person transactions.
Now, imagine this scenario expanding into the world of e-commerce. There would be no “add to cart” and “checkout” options online. In fact, without credit cards, could online businesses even exist? For businesses that rely heavily on digital platforms, offering an alternative payment method such as wire transfers, cheques or direct bank transfers would be cumbersome at best. Without credit cards, the online sales process would slow to a crawl.
Now, in a world void of credit cards, it is possible that mobile payment systems could step up to fill the void. Mobile payment solutions, like mobile wallets and contactless payments, allow for faster, simpler transactions. Still, if credit cards were out of the picture, many consumers would struggle to adapt. Without the credit infrastructure, they might find it difficult to top up their mobile wallets, which in turn could hurt sales.
The need for credit cards is clearer than ever.
Imagining a world without credit cards might seem like a dystopian thought experiment. However, it actually highlights just how integral digital payment systems are to our daily lives. Credit cards (and by extension, digital wallets and mobile payments) have become crucial to business operations and the consumer experience.
Thankfully, you don’t have to live in a world without credit cards! With payment systems that offer seamless transactions for both online and in-store sales, you can avoid the headaches of a cash-only economy. By embracing solutions that accept credit cards, debit cards and mobile payments, your business can thrive in the world we live in today and well into the future.
Be smart about how you accept payments.
With the Poynt Smart Terminal, you can accept all payment types and run your business from anywhere! This Android-based terminal has a suite of business management tools that allow you to keep track of all your orders, reports and inventory in one place. To learn more, please don’t hesitate to call Divvia at 1-877-748-2884 or send us a message on our Contact Us page!
