Why Credit Card Transactions Matter More at a Time Like This

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the entire world is practicing better hygiene like washing hands and disinfecting various surfaces to stay safe from the mighty virus. During this global crisis, it is essential to understand how you pay at stores and restaurants serving takeout. Using credit cards is a better way to make payments without spreading the germs than cash payments. Plus, it is much easier to sanitize a credit card than to sanitize cash.

Credit Card Convenience

Paying through a credit card is always convenient both for restaurant owners and their customers. It is fast, easy, and customers don't need to carry exact change. Most credit cards are linked to customer loyalty programs offered by the restaurants so that frequent visitors can benefit from these offers. For restaurant owners, it is convenient too because they don't need to reconcile point of sale receipts with the cash received at the end of a long and tiring day. Eliminating cash transactions means there is less chance of miscalculation at the end of the night. Also, with no bills lying around your cash counter, you minimize the risk of theft.

Processing Credit Card Payments

If you’re wondering how to make credit card use secure and efficient, the answer lies in adopting a point of sale (POS) system that allows credit card processing. POS software is an application that retailers use to make sales. It can be a cash register, a computer, or any handheld device like a tablet where the product details are entered to make a financial transaction. POS software goes the extra mile by communicating with the back of the house to keep a check on the inventory available, thus keeping everything in balance. From expensive POS solutions to cloud-based POS systems that allow credit card processing, each business has its preference when it comes to choosing POS software.

What Features to Look For

As a restaurant owner, your primary focus is to offer excellent food and an unforgettable customer experience. If you're using an old legacy system or an old POS system that is prone to shutting down, you might be putting your business at risk. The only way out is to upgrade your POS system to modern cloud-based POS software. With so many POS systems available for the restaurant business, how do you determine which is the best one for your business? Below are a few pointers to help you make an informed decision.

A Real-time, Cloud-based Transaction Portal

Your customers do not like to wait for food or payment. For a restaurant business, speed is a must. If you want to win the hearts of your customers, then you need to offer impeccable customer service. That's why you need to find a POS system that provides a real-time, cloud-based transaction portal. Being cloud-based, you can use it offline too.

Fraud Detection and Security Monitoring

When installing a POS system, you need to ensure it has the capability of fraud detection and security monitoring. Your customers share critical information while making a payment, and you need to ensure there is no security threat to it. Opt for a POS system that has annual PCI compliance, has security experts for fraud detection and security monitoring, and encourages best practices for data security. A great add-on is a feature that places holds on employees if internal theft is detected. For example, an efficient POS system should be able to put a hold on an employee offering a special discount to a friend. While you know your staff are trustworthy, there is no harm in having a secured and robust system in place to prevent your business from the risk of potential theft.

Fast EMV Processing

EMV payment, more commonly known as chip payment, has become the standard for credit card payments. If you don’t comply with EMV requirements, you can face a chargeback fine for swiping a chipped card. To avoid this, choose an EMV compliant POS system so that you don't need to deal with every single chargeback. Plus, since EMV cards are more secure than the traditional cards, customers prefer using EMV cards. Hence, your POS system should be capable of fast EMV processing.

Accepts Multiple Payment Methods

An efficient POS system should be able to accept multiple payment methods like Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, PayPal, etc. with near-field communication.

Looking Forward

It’s no secret that cash payments have become increasingly unpopular. Especially now, when sanitation is on everyone’s mind, it’s best to encourage your customers to use credit cards. To support these efforts, upgrade or implement POS software that makes credit card usage faster and more convenient.