3 Big Benefits Of Accepting Debit Cards

Canadian shoppers love using their debit cards. For many years now, we’ve all enjoyed the ability of paying for our purchases without having to worry about going to the ATM to withdraw any cash. The very card that enables you to retrieve cash from your bank account also allows you to make payments directly to the stores you make purchases from.

This provides an incredible convenience. How often have you been shopping and found that you don’t quite have enough cash on you to complete your shopping? As we pointed out in our last blog, cash is used more rarely today than ever before. If you’re a Canadian merchant, you’d certainly be wise to operate a debit card-friendly store.

Here are three big benefits of accepting debit cards:

1. You get your money quicker.

When you accept cash in your store, it doesn’t officially become part of your company’s revenue until it’s deposited in the business bank account. How often do you visit your bank? How long does it usually take for you to make your deposits? With debit card acceptance, your deposits are made within a day or two. As Osmond Vitez explains on Chron.com, debit card acceptance makes for faster approval times.

“Swiping a debit card usually pings the customer’s account to ensure that sufficient funds are available to complete the transaction,” he writes, “Businesses then wait one or two business days to have these funds transferred to their bank account. This approval time is usually quicker than checks and credit cards.”

2. You increase your sales.

In our last blog, we highlighted the fact that cash-only businesses tend to lose out on many sales. This is especially true with big ticket items. When customers are limited to paying only with cash, they are forced to spend only up to the amount of cash they have on them. With debit cards, customers can spend as much as they like, as long as there is enough money in their bank accounts. Also on Chron.com, Chris Joseph explains that this helps to promote impulse purchases.

“An attractive display in your establishment may entice a customer to make an impulse purchase,” he notes, “However, the customer may not be carrying adequate amounts of cash and may also not wish to take on additional debt by using a credit card. A debit card allows her to still make the purchase without increasing her credit card debt.”

3. You avoid fraud.

How often have you been burned by accepting counterfeit cash or bad cheques? When you accept debit cards, you are guaranteed legitimate revenue. On HealPay.com, Latoya Irby explains that accepting debit cards decreases the risk of returned transactions.

“When a debit card is swiped, the payment system verifies that the customer has enough funds before approving the transaction,” she details, “If the customer doesn’t have sufficient funds (and hasn’t opted-in to processing overdraft transactions), the transaction will be declined and the customer has to find an alternate payment method or forgo the transaction. A lost sale is far better than the collection issues that arise from returned payments.”

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