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Ecommerce in 2021 – 3 Online Business Trends for a Post-COVID World

Ecommerce trends 2021 COVID-19

2020 was an unprecedented year for brick and mortar merchants, as the global COVID-19 pandemic saw many businesses forced to close and strict guidelines put in place limiting in-store activities. In turn, consumers flocked online, boosting ecommerce sales by 45% year-over-year and accelerating ecommerce adoption by as much as five years. Consumer habits are like a ratchet – they only go one way – and that means that the same new shopping behaviors consumers developed during 2020’s online rush will likely stay with them long after COVID-19 is a distant memory. Continue reading “Ecommerce in 2021 – 3 Online Business Trends for a Post-COVID World”

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2021 Best Touch Screen POS Systems for Retail Merchants

Touch Screen POS

A touch screen point-of-sale (POS) system is like a typical POS system, but the software operates on handheld devices and tablets, rather than traditional POS hardware. Touch screen POS systems are web-based and can synchronize in real time to a variety of other software solutions, enabling merchants to monitor their businesses from anywhere in the world. Continue reading “2021 Best Touch Screen POS Systems for Retail Merchants”

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Next-Day Funds – A Key Merchant Service for Maximum Business Well-Being

Next-Day Funds – A Key Merchant Service for Maximum Business Well-Being

Next-day funding is a merchant service some payment processors offer to trusted merchants. This waives the standard holds that generally hold up funds for as many as three business days on each and every batch. If you’re currently facing multi-day holds, you’re likely familiar with the frustration they can cause. Beyond frustration, there are serious costs associated with funding holds and moving to a merchant account with next-day funding has the potential to offer your business some significant financial benefits. The following represent just five of the many positive impacts next-day funds stand to have on your business, including improved cash flow, the ability to look further into the future, the satisfaction of knowing the money you’ve earned is working for you, and more.  Continue reading “Next-Day Funds – A Key Merchant Service for Maximum Business Well-Being”

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Successful Loyalty Model in Merchant Payments

Successful Loyalty Model in Merchant Payments

Have you ever stamped a card in anticipation of a free coffee? Presented a swipe card to gain points towards your next gallon of gas? Signed up for a payment card offering a percentage of your purchase back? If so, you’re already very familiar with customer loyalty programs. 

Loyalty programs represent a great way to generate repeat customers while simultaneously building a long-term brand relationship, and their effectiveness is demonstrated by their sheer ubiquity across all of retail. Today, customers expect loyalty programs, and failure to offer one could result in lost sales to your competitors who are offering those all-important points.  Continue reading “Successful Loyalty Model in Merchant Payments”

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Apple Pay for Small Businesses – Getting Started with a Must-Have Payment Option for 2021 and Beyond

Apple Pay for Small Businesses

Apple Pay is Apple’s proprietary electronic payment solution, working hand-in-hand with Apple Wallet, the company’s card storage platform. Its userbase is growing extremely rapidly, and the system is well on its way to handling one out of every ten card payments by 2025. To use Apple Pay, users program their debit and credit card information directly into Apple Wallet, and then make online or in-store purchases by tapping their devices or clicking a button, and scanning either their thumb or face with Touch ID or Face ID. The benefits of accepting Apple Pay are myriad, and with so many Apple users jumping on board, it’s quickly becoming a must-have system for merchants looking to give customers the flexible payment options they demand.  Continue reading “Apple Pay for Small Businesses – Getting Started with a Must-Have Payment Option for 2021 and Beyond”

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Commerce in a Post-COVID World: Are Contactless Payments the Solution?

Commerce in a Post-COVID World: Are Contactless Payments the Solution?

The global spread of COVID-19 threw the entire globe into chaos, and businesses all over the world suddenly found themselves operating under new, strict rules – if they were allowed to operate at all. That put an enormous strain on the entirety of retail, with few sectors emerging unscathed. But limited access to the businesses they’d always taken for granted, and an increase in public caution and awareness in relation to things like social distancing and sanitation also caused major shifts in the way consumers shop. Those changes are not temporary, and they won’t roll back once business as usual eventually resumes. That makes it extremely important for all merchants to educate themselves on the new realities of the marketplace, and to adapt as necessary to stay current. Doing so has the potential to open up new revenue streams and improve the customer experience, while failure to do so has the potential to drive customers right into the arms of more agile, adaptable competitors better able to meet their new needs. Continue reading “Commerce in a Post-COVID World: Are Contactless Payments the Solution?”

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Where’s My Money? Why Funding Can Take So Long and How Merchants Can Gain Access to Their Funds Faster

Where’s My Money? Why Funding Can Take So Long and How Merchants Can Gain Access to Their Funds Faster

There are few things more satisfying than checking your numbers after a strong day of sales. But what is far less satisfying is having to wait days – often half a week or more – to enjoy the fruits of those sales due to annoyingly long hold periods imposed by your merchant services provider. That’s especially true if you don’t understand why it’s happening. The good news is, with a little bit of knowledge and the right business practices, the standard hold period – the delay between making a sale and actually getting your money – can be reduced or even eliminated. 

Continue reading “Where’s My Money? Why Funding Can Take So Long and How Merchants Can Gain Access to Their Funds Faster”

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What Merchant Services Providers Do: How Companies Like BAMS Help Businesses Like Yours Succeed

What Merchant Services Providers Do: How Companies Like BAMS Help Businesses Like Yours Succeed

Merchant services providers have a huge role to play in the success of all companies accepting electronic payments, both online and in-store. But, whether you choose to partner with a third-party processor like PayPal or to open up your own personal merchant account through a company like BAMS, it’s important that you understand exactly what your payment processing partners do for your business, what your fees pay for, and how you can ensure you get the best bang for that buck.  Continue reading “What Merchant Services Providers Do: How Companies Like BAMS Help Businesses Like Yours Succeed”

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Is Toast a Good POS system? The Pros and Cons of Putting Toast to Work in Your Restaurant

Is Toast a Good POS system? The Pros and Cons of Putting Toast to Work in Your Restaurant

Toast is a software company that provides restaurants with point-of-sale systems, as well as a host of other products covering ordering, management, and payment solutions. Toast’s flagship product is its Android-based cloud POS, which offers restauranteurs an easy-to-use, efficient software suite and simple, modular hardware. The success of that POS drove Toast’s value to over $1 billion in 2018, and at its peak, the company employed over 2,000 people. But despite all that success, the platform has some significant drawbacks which have only been compounded by the tough economic times the restaurant industry has faced in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Weighing those pros and cons is key to determining if Toast is the right POS for your restaurant, and we’ll take a look at both sides of the issue below. 

Continue reading “Is Toast a Good POS system? The Pros and Cons of Putting Toast to Work in Your Restaurant”