Less cash, more possibility

Habits are changing with consumers and business, so what’s next?

We’ve researched the state of play with cash along with our partners at YouLend. Looking at the payment habits of consumers and businesses, the figures confirm what we already know.

If you want to read the full report, you can find that here.

The country’s relying less and less on cash.

Driven by consumer demand and facilitated by savvy business-owners, we can see how consumer habits are changing the payments landscape.

Today, 95% of businesses accept payments other than cash. But it does mean there’s still 5% of businesses that are cash only.

The reason most businesses are cash-only is less to do with their customers’ demand, and more to do with their personal preferences.

However, 56% of businesses cite customer preference as the reason that they take card payments.

Businesses are using payments to connect to their market.

What’s really clear from the results is that offering a mixture of payment options is a great way to lean into this change. That’s what helps them connect with as many customers as possible.

Payments are becoming a way for businesses to get more creative with finding their market. It’s about creating a seamless experience.

Our data shows that customers could spend up to 28% more on a memorable experience:

• 55% of consumers prefer to pay by debit card
• 36% prefer to pay by debit card only
• <10% prefer to pay by cash

So it’s about tailoring everything, from your business offering to your payments options, to what suits your customers best.

And it’s showing on the high street already. We’ve seen stronger growth in cash to card in independent businesses on the high street. That reflects the move to creating memorable experiences, as independent businesses position themselves to offer something more unique than global chains do.

To capitalise on the customer hunger for experiences, high street businesses should design, promote and provide memorable experiences for their customers by building even stronger relationships with them to keep them coming back. And that can be perfected with the right tech to hand.

How people feel about non-cash payments.

Cash is just one way to get paid. Card payments are just another. With digital phone payments, online ecommerce payments or deals with third parties like takeaway apps – there’s a lot of choice.

But since most businesses have accepted card for more than five years (and of those who haven’t: 43% are thinking of starting to) let’s look at why.

• Customer feelings
  Cards are easy to use, it’s a trusted payment method, card payments are secure, they enable a contactless experience, and remotely paying for goods
• Business feelings
  There’s a preconception that money takes a long time to clear, but card payment technology means transfers are quick (for example, ours land the next morning)

It’s interesting to see how businesses feel about cash-flow especially. Because 69% of businesses say getting next-day card takings actually improved their cash-flow

A significant proportion say accepting card payments reduces the risk of on-premises theft, too.

Ultimately, card payments free up time for business owners. Then they can focus on building relationships with their customers, which increases transaction value and improves customer loyalty.

The future

The modern payment landscape is just the start of the direction we’re going in. For now, it’s all about providing a mixture of different payment methods. But it’s clear that cash is simply going to be less and less relied upon.

44% of cash-only businesses plan to add other payment methods in the next five years. And all our evidence points to this change being permanent.

We don’t see that businesses return to being cash only once adopting card payments. Once businesses start taking cards, they like it enough to carry on.

Want to find out more about market spending habits? Read our full report here.

How Dojo can help

At Dojo, we take a customer-centric approach to every service and product we provide, and these address some of the industry trends we’re seeing, too. For example:

• Giving businesses sight of their money
  We know businesses need accurate transaction information for reconciliation. We’ve improved our Dojo app with real-time transaction information, custom filters and much more. Now business owners can see exactly what’s happening, anywhere, anytime
• Providing the fastest payments out there
  We know speed is essential for any card machine. You don’t want to keep customers hanging around. Dojo machines only take an average 1.7 seconds to process a payment - that’s 80% faster than other providers.
• Providing the best cash-flow
  We learnt how important cash-flow is to every business, and we’ve tackled that in two ways:
• Next-day takings
  Our customers’ daily takings are in our customers’ accounts from 10am the next working day – faster than any other provider as standard. No more waiting, no extra charges.
• Business funding
  In partnership with YouLend, we offer funding to help boost cash flow. Unlike a traditional bank loan, repayments are made as a fixed percentage of daily card takings – so no need to pay back the same agreed amount every month. It’s funding that ebbs and flows with every business.