The Benefits of Merchant Services for Your Business
The marketplace today is fast-paced and constantly changing. To stay competitive and meet customer expectations, businesses have to adopt varied strategies and tools. What does that mean for your business? Using merchant services can help boost overall business efficiency, enhance customer service, and generally help you track and manage your business so you can focus more on helping your customers.
What is the Importance of Merchant Services
Merchant services, also known as business services, can be a massive part of running any business. With the right partner, tasks can be automated to save time or help to improve cash flow and get invoices paid quickly and easily so that money can be used to continue improvements or expansion of your product lines or new locations.
What is Merchant Services or Business Services in Banking
Business services are the back-end processes used to run a business efficiently. These tools and services help manage tasks such as payroll and accounting so business owners can focus on the most important part of what they do, helping customers and making sales. WaFd Bank offers these business services:
- POS (point-of-sale) Systems
- Payment Processing Services
- HR and Payroll Services
- Customer Engagement (digital gift cards, loyalty programs, email marketing, etc.)
- Cash Flow Management
- Accounting Automation
- CollectEarly™
What is Merchant Services or Business Services in Banking
There are many benefits, some of which are more important than others to some businesses, but all benefit each business in some way and help improve the customer experience.
- Enhanced Payment Processing: Gain the ability to accept multiple forms of payment, such as credit cards, digital wallets (using a phone or mobile device to pay), and online transactions. Versatility is critical for appealing to your customers' various preferences. With a reliable provider, your business can process payments securely, quickly, and reliably to cut down on fraud and errors.
- Improved Cash Flow & Money Management: Cash flow significantly impacts any business. These services ensure that money from sales is transferred to your business accounts without delay. This is important to maintain liquidity, manage expenses, and invest in growth strategies if you have the opportunity. All of this is especially important for small and mid-sized businesses.
- Superior Customer Service & Convenience: Customers have high expectations now more than ever, so you'll need to adapt to stay competitive. Business services can allow you to offer a frictionless checkout process, which helps your sales since customers know it's easy to come back for more, whether that's in-store or online. In addition to increased sales, this can lead to improved customer satisfaction, word-of-mouth referrals, and repeat business.
- Higher Sales and Revenue: Offer more ways to pay to attract a bigger customer base. Digital wallets and tap-to-pay options are becoming increasingly popular, so not offering those payment options can lead to lost sales. Business services often come with tools that allow you to set up recurring billing, offer finance options, and manage subscriptions (if you offer that) to potentially increase sales.
- Advanced Security Measures: Security is important for customers and to your business. Companies that offer payment processing invest in the latest security software to protect you and your customers. They also ensure that PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards) are met to help reduce data breaches and fraud risks for peace of mind.
- Reporting and Analytics: Use robust analytics and reporting tools to gain valuable insight into financial performance. Track sales trends, monitor transaction volume, and find peak sales times so you can make informed decisions and optimize your operations. You can also use this data to launch marketing strategies with a higher success rate.
- Streamline Operations & Save Time: Other features can help streamline different aspects of your operations. Integrated POS (point of sale) systems can manage inventory, track staff performance, and even become your CRM (customer relationship management). Integrated solutions can improve efficiency and free up a lot of time for you as a business owner so you can focus on growing your business and increasing sales.
- Scalability: As the years go by, payment processing will change. Get scalable solutions with business services that can adapt to the times. Whether you're entering new markets, launching a website, or opening a new store, having a reliable business services merchant can help support growth without disruption.
Choosing a Merchant Services or Business Services Provider
By leveraging these and other services, your business can stay competitive, drive sales, and see long-term growth. Whether you're looking to improve your payment processing, improve your cash flow, boost customer experience, or gain security, there are multiple benefits to using business services that are impactful to your business. You can stay competitive, drive sales, and realize long-term growth just by investing in a reputable provider. Don't just consider the cost during your search, consider their reputation and what it's like to really work with them. Ask nearby businesses which they use to get reliable feedback to help you make an informed decision.
WaFd Bank is Here to Help
Whether your small business is looking for a better way to pay employees, deposit checks, or finance an expansion, our local small business bankers have the community knowledge and business experience to help. Find your local WaFd Bank branch to learn more, or open a business bank account online today.
