Small businesses are embracing cashless payments. Juanny Romero, the chief executive of Mothership Coffee Roasters, added more digital payment options for customers no longer using cash to pay for their meals.
The pandemic caused a shift to cashless payment, which resulted in a feeling of remorse among small-business owners. An owner said a cashless system saved her $3,000 a month.
For many small-commerce businesses, it is necessary to shift to digital payments.
The number of Americans who say they are 'cashless' has increased in the last five years. Forty-one percent of Americans said they did not use cash for their purchases in a typical week in 2022, up from 29 percent in 2018, according to a Pew Research Center survey released in October. Small-business owners are taking the switch to cashless payment, resulting in increased consumer demand, faster checkout, lower labor costs, and increased security. Experts say waiting too long can result in a loss of revenue. While cash-free options offer a learning curve for entrepreneurs who may not understand how to set up digital payments, a lack of access to credit cards for low-income consumers, and privacy concerns, there are some drawbacks to going cash-free.
The benefits include immediate payment, increased sales, and the ability to sell to customers who may use other currencies. ''It's worth it,'' said Kimberley A. Eddleston, professor of entrepreneurship at Northeastern University. But some business owners are hesitant to move too quickly, worried that today's technology could become obsolete tomorrow. And there are compatibility and cost issues to consider, said Wayne Read, head of Forged & Formed, an online jeweler with a physical store in Woodstock, Ill. In his jewelry sales where items can be pricey, he said a speedy transaction might not be suitable. ''I want people to feel that they have rushed their decision,'' he said. Although technology is improving, Americans still have little or no access to financial services like credit cards and mobile wallets, though that is slowly improving. In 2021, an average of 5.9 million households did not have a bank account, down from 7.1 million households in 2019.
Consumers see cash as a way to keep an eye on expenditures. The recent banking scandal in the US has led to many depositors questioning the security of financial institutions as a result of the transition to the digital economy. But experts say cash is unlikely to go away. The fed's survey surveyed consumers in lower income households who rely on cash for payments. Despite the velocity and efficiency that cashless payments provide, small-business owners feel cash is still a profitable option for their customers. Romero, 58, said the president's job was to find ways to improve the economy.