With all the technological advancements we’ve seen in the past couple of years, it’s safe to say we’ve already moved one step closer to a future we could’ve only dreamt about years ago.
Digital currencies have emerged onto the market, going hand in hand with electronic transactions and allowing us to envision a reality where never paying in cash is a possibility.
The fact that one can have wealth without it being stored on a massive pile of money somewhere is astounding, and it may just be a change for the better, seeing as all concepts need to evolve at some point, even something as ancient as money.
Because of this, a number of stores in America have already embraced the change, and some are even outright refusing to accept cash, doing their business only with customers that pay via card or cryptocurrency.
Despite this sounding a bit unfair towards the average American, it’s perfectly legal, and some may even argue that it’s for the best, even if it may sound like horrible customer service.
Let’s go over exactly what’s happening and what you can do to become a part of this growing trend.
Can it be better for business?
There’s a great misconception about cash payments, that being that they’re good for business, which is categorically untrue, seeing as electronic payments come with an overwhelming amount of advantages.
In fact, some stores have welcomed the “no cash” policy with joy, and if you’re still not convinced, maybe it’s best to start off with only some of the benefits that electronic payments have to offer.
The improvements
Sick days may no longer become a thing, at least not as often as they were in the past, as less contact with paper money and coins means less exposure to the millions of germs that nest in physical currency.
If all of your customers pay via debit or credit card, your employees will no longer risk getting sick from contact with their money, which has long since been established to be extremely filthy.
A single dollar bill could’ve exchanged by thousands of hands in only a month, and it’s hard not to imagine how many of those people don’t have the best hygienic habits.
However, a cashless future throws this concept out the window, and no-contact payments could potentially reduce the number of infections that happen because of improper handling of money.
Apart from reducing the risk of sickness, going cashless also means you’re not exposing yourself to getting the register robbed, as there’s nothing in it at any point in time.
On top of this, if any potential thieves already know you’re running a cashless store, your place of business may no longer be at risk of being held up over a robbery.
Every dollar you make will be stored digitally, and that will make both your customers and employees safer, all the while protecting your earnings from those that decided to make that money their own.
Finally, going cashless may also save you from losing hundreds of dollars to your own staff, as it’s not uncommon, especially in stores without camera surveillance, for an employee to slip a $20 bill in their pocket.
In fact, you’d be surprised with how often this happens, and while a measly $20 won’t do much in the grand scheme of things, repeated offenses could be detrimental to your business.
A cashless register greatly reduces the risk of employee theft, and while this does somewhat ruin the relationship between the employer and employee, seeing as there’s significantly less trust involved, it may be a change for the better.
How you can help grow the popularity
With times changing so rapidly, it’d be horrible to be left behind, and you may want to get with the times as soon as possible, so why not contribute to the spread of cashless stores?
Digital currency has been on the rise for the past couple of years, and one can only assume that the usage of physical money will eventually diminish, which is exactly why it’s important to be an early adopter.
One way to do this is to give feedback, and even if you do prefer cash, you can still inform the store’s management that your customer experience was unpleasant.
From that point on, they can do everything in their power to adapt to the people shopping at their business, whether it’s fully implementing a no-cash policy or dialing it back just ever so slightly.
Of course, not everyone wants to deal with owning a credit card, and having to make regular payments on it can be troublesome, especially if the interest rate on it is too high for your taste.
However, there are alternatives, and you can get prepaid cards like Bluebird American Express, which is a quick and easy way to go cashless when shopping around.
This spares you the entire process of applying for a credit card while giving you all of the benefits a card user has, and if even that is a bit too great of a commitment for you, consider buying store gift cards to make your payments.
Final word
Despite its popularity, a cashless world isn’t exactly all it’s written up to be, and it does have some major downsides, one being the abundance of cyber criminals that could ruin your business if you only deal with digital transactions.
Thankfully, cyber security has improved over the years, and your money is usually well protected against theft, which still doesn’t guarantee that someone won’t attempt to steal from you.
We’re still at the tip of the iceberg, and digital currencies are something that we’ve only begun to explore, meaning that if not now, we may just see this trend take the world by storm in a couple of years.