Even though contactless payment is a big trend and Czechs quickly got used to it, it is no exception that small stores, artisans and trading companies cannot yet offer this payment method. While card payments are the norm in large stores, small and medium-sized businesses still need to pay in cash.
Thanks to Mlada Fronta Dnes, a survey is available in which more than 400 SMEs and their representatives were asked about the possibility of introducing payment terminals. However, more than three-quarters of these SMEs have not even considered introducing digital payments. However, most of them do not want to manage their funds exclusively in cash and use direct debit for most of their transactions.
The second reason, revealed in the aforementioned survey, is that these firms calculate that the operational costs of the terminals are too high.
They are forced to pay fees that reduce their margins on services and products that are not even available to them. Since these fees often account for almost all of the margin, the companies get nothing, and the only ones who benefit from the introduction of terminals are the companies that provide them.
Only 18% of the SMEs surveyed use payment gateways, and another 5% are considering adopting this option for payments.
The only reason firms are acquiring this technology is that customers who are already accustomed to paying without cash in hand often prefer it. Of course, part of the decision-making process is also influenced by the fact that this method is faster to pay and much easier to record for accounting purposes.
Of course, cashless payments can also play a role in the balance in the sense that employees do not have to touch cash and thus do not have to be so responsible, while on the other hand employers can in principle check their employees much easier. And for the customer, thanks to digital payments, he can keep track of expenses incurred and can easily check his own account later for payment.