6 Reasons to Keep Your Payment Systems Up to Date
If you’re like most merchants, you’ve got a bunch of balls in the air.
As a business owner, dozens of initiatives and tasks demand your time and attention, day in and day out. Whether it’s strategic planning, marketing, sales, customer service, hiring, and managing employees, or any number of other tasks, running a business is analogous to an ongoing juggling act.
While undertaking these activities to keep your business humming, the last thing you should have to worry about is being derailed by a problem with your payment processing — due to outdated systems.
In this post, we’ll examine why it’s in the best interest of your business to keep your payment systems current. By the end, you’ll know the main benefits of modern payment systems and the potential risks associated with outdated systems. Here we go.
Bolster Your Security
Security is critical for every business. Breaches involving theft of sensitive customer information and financial data can lead to financial losses, reputational damage, and legal liabilities. Payment processing systems lacking the necessary security features to protect against modern threats could potentially expose a business to risks.
To protect customers’ financial information and prevent fraud, it’s important to keep payment systems up to date with the latest security measures. For example, a system with encryption and tokenization technologies can provide a higher level of security and peace of mind.
Ensure Your Compliance
Closely tied to security is PCI compliance. PCI compliant means any company or organization that accepts, transmits, or stores the private data of cardholders is compliant with the various security measures outlined by the PCI Security Standard Council to ensure that the data is kept safe and private.
Businesses that use outdated payment systems are more at risk of non-compliance, leaving them vulnerable to costly penalties and damage to their reputation. According to the U.S. Chamber Of Commerce, one of the easiest ways to ensure PCI compliance is to use a modern POS system.
Reinforce Your System’s Reliability
Encountering technical issues with a payment processing system can be aggravating, disruptive, and costly. Not only is it time-consuming to troubleshoot and speak with customer service, but it can also cost your business sales due to the inability to process transactions. A Censuswide survey found that retailers reported losses of up to $855 an hour when their systems went down. Ouch. However, up-to-date payment systems are less likely to experience technical issues and downtime, thereby helping you avoid those headaches and hits to your bottom line.
Boost Sales
A further advantage of an updated payment processing system is that it enables your businesses to offer customers the latest and most convenient payment options, which can help boost sales and customer satisfaction. For example, offering mobile payments and digital wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Wallet can be an effective way to attract and retain customers who prefer to pay with their smartphones.
Gain Efficiency
Outdated payment processing systems can slow down business operations. Take manual data entry and reconciliation for instance. These tasks are time-consuming and more prone to errors, which can lead to incorrect financial records and reduced efficiency.
Conversely, a modern payment processing system helps improve efficiency by easily integrating with e-commerce platforms and accounting software. On top of that, it can provide real-time access to payment data and reporting, furnishing financial insights for more informed and effective decision making.
Enhance Customer Experience
Customers expect a seamless transaction and outdated payment processing systems can often cause friction in the process. Slow transaction times and error messages may discourage customers from making purchases, leading to lost sales and reduced customer loyalty. In contrast, Modern payment processing systems offer a smooth experience, increasing the likelihood of repeat business and customer referrals.
The Wrap Up
To sum up, we’ve covered the six most significant reasons to keep your payment processing system up to date. By ensuring security, compliance, and reliability, you minimize the risk of financial penalties, loss of sales, and reputational damage. By increasing efficiency and sales, while providing a seamless customer experience, you improve your business’s performance and profitability. All in all, maintaining an up-to-date payment system helps you stay ahead of the curve and keeps your business operating at a high level in an ever-evolving business landscape.
A trusted payment processing partner like Paynada can help you implement the most suitable solution for your business. To find out more about how we help business owners modernize their payment processing, connect with us here.