Is it worthwhile to still operate a cash-only business in 2021? The majority of Canadians, we’d imagine, would respond with a resounding “no”. According to GreedyRates.ca, “Canadians now spend more on their credit cards than they do on their debit cards, but still use their debit cards about 1 billion more times than their credit cards every year. Each Canadian makes about 103 transactions on their credit card per year, 8.5 transactions per month, 2 transactions per week.” Evidently, Canucks prefer their cards over cash.
COVID calls for it.
Since the advent of the coronavirus pandemic, the choice to use credit and debit cards over cash has significantly grown in popularity. The idea was that by omitting the transfer of cash from one person’s hands to another, one could avoid passing along the virus. This helped to prompt both Visa and Mastercard to raise their tap payment limits from $100 to $250. By enabling consumers to use tap payments, they could also avoid having to punch in their PIN codes.
In June of last year, Meredith MacLeod of CTV News reported that many large retailers were advocating non-cash payments: “Some merchants, including Loblaws and Tim Hortons, are urging non-cash payment and others, including Longos, Best Buy and Indigo are outlawing physical money altogether, over fears that bills and coins could be contaminated with the coronavirus and the exchange of money breaks physical distancing advisories.”
Electronic payment methods are far too convenient.
Even in a world not burdened by a pandemic, it is just so convenient to use credit and debit cards. By enabling customers to pay with plastic, merchants help their customers to spend to their heart’s contents – or at least up to their credit limits and bank account balances. In addition, credit and debit cards provide numerous other ways to conveniently pay for purchases.
“Not only are there credit and debit cards, but there are also bank transfers, direct deposit, and online payments,” notes Kevin Mercadante on MoneyUnder30.com, “It’s simply too convenient to make payments electronically, particularly with the Internet, as well as the fact that merchants and vendors can now be hundreds or thousands of miles away.”
A cashless society helps to lower crime.
What happens when people walk around without any cash on them? They can’t lose or be robbed of their money! Many people have taken to going cashless for this purpose alone. “Today, a lot of people are afraid to carry cash, particularly large amounts,” notes Mercadante, “While debit and credit cards can be cancelled and replaced if stolen, once cash disappears, it’s gone forever. Carrying too much cash could even make you a target.”
He goes on to point out that heavy use of cash has been commonly associated with crime – particularly drug-related crimes. “The invisibility of cash is more effective for the criminal element,” writes Mercadante, “The elimination of cash may seriously impair criminal activity.”
At Unity Payments, we believe that the easiest and most convenient way for merchants to accept credit cards and debit cards is with the Poynt Smart Terminal. It’s the world’s first “smart” terminal and it has revolutionized the ways in which businesses accept payments for purchases. To learn more, please don’t hesitate to call us at 1-800-661-3761 or email us at info@unitypayments.ca.
