Customers no longer have to rely on germ-infested bills and coins or plastic credit cards these days to complete a purchase. Today, customers can actually store all of their payment information on their smartphones via a digital wallet where they can make payments quickly and effectively.
Business owners, especially online businesses, can also enjoy the benefits of a digital wallet. In fact, every business owner should take into accounts digital wallets for the following reasons:
Improves customer experience.
Regardless of your industry and whether you’re online of offline, customer experience is everything these days. Customers expect their shopping experiences to be as painless as possible, aka they need to be fast and convenient.
Digital wallets can accomplish that for a couple of reasons.
For starters, digital wallets can take-out some of the steps involved during the checkout process. Instead of filling out lengthy forms or trying to remember your credit card number, you can simply tap, scan, or auto-fill fields to complete the checkout process directly from there phone.
In other words, since all the customer’s information is already stored in one place, the checkout process is process. This also means that abandoned shopping carts and connecting with the anywhere customer is a thing of the past.
As an added bonus, online retailers can reward customers with discount codes on the spot, as opposed to emailing or sending them through snail mail. We’ll discuss this more shortly.
Gives you complete control over your payment system.
Thanks to likes of Square and Bitcoin, you can now customize your payment platform or completely remove third party financial institutions. For example, if your business accepts a cryptocurrency like Bitcoin, the transaction is directly between you and the customer, which means you can establish the payments terms.
Not only does this give you control, it can also save you and your customers money since you no longer have to pay those steep transaction fees.
Replaces credit cards.
Millennials, who happen to be the largest age demographic in the U.S., don’t trust banks or want credit cards. Instead, they prefer debit cards so that they always connected to their funds. With digital wallets, Millennials no longer have to rely on banks or credit cards to make a purchase.
They could purchase a prepaid card, electronic cash, or set-up an account with an online bank to make purchases instantly or send money to another party without exchanging bills or swiping a credit card.
More secure.
Security is a major concern when using a digital wallet. However, digital wallets are extremely secure. For example, you don’t have to worry about leaving your credit card in a physical location, you can lock your phone if you lose it, and biometrics like fingerprint identification are being used to verify a purchase.
With cryptocurrencies, there are intricately coded algorithms that make stealing coins more of a challenge. Also, both parties must approve the transaction before it’s finalized. Once it is, the transaction is recorded on the public ledger.
Access to real-time data.
Digital wallets provide a treasure trove of data. For example, you can easily access information like customer shopping preferences and shopping history. This allows you to segment customers so that you can send them product suggestions and incorporate loyalty or reward programs. Because this data is presented in real-time you may even be able to cross and upsell related products before they complete the checkout process.
Additionally, you can manage your costs and budget in real-time. Instead of waiting for transactions to go through or for paper receipts to arrive, transactions are instant. This means that you can keep better tabs on your finances.
Keeps your business ahead of the curve.
Adopting digital wallets puts your online business ahead of your competitors. Eve if the adaption rates are low for customers right now, more and more consumers are using their smartphones to make purchases. If you fail to jump on board with this payment trend, you can potentially lose out on important sales to competitors who have already begun using digital wallets.
What you need to started with digital wallets.
The first place to start with digital wallets is finding a digital wallet provider. Not to boast, but we offer an innovative and secure digital wallet that’s easy-to-setup and can transfer funds almost instantly.
Of course, we’re far from the only company that offers a digital wallet. Before settling on your final decision, do a little research like knowing which apps or wallets your customers are currently using and how much you’ll be charged for transaction fees.
