Plumbing Africa June 2017 | Page 41

Business and training Time to add credit card readers to your business Accepting credit cards is a business necessity these days, but do you need to invest in a chip card terminal? By Judy Kneiszel (extracted from Plumber magazine, US) My 17-year-old son recently opened a cheque account. He rolled his eyes and shook his head “no” when the bank teller asked if he needed paper cheques and a registry. Is he a frugal saver who doesn’t plan to spend any of his earnings? No. He’s going to spend electronically and via plastic. It’s a fact of life that few people under the age of 25 write cheques — for anything. Banking and spending is all handled via debit card, credit card, online payment services, direct deposit, and maybe an ATM for the rare occasion young adults use cash. This matters to you as a business owner, because members of the paperless spending generation will soon be, if they are not already, your customers. Sending out a paper invoice and expecting a paper cheque in return will no longer be standard operating procedure. You need to accept credit- and debit cards to remain viable. Everyone else is doing it But, you say, isn’t taking charge cards risky and/ or expensive? Won’t I have to give up a percentage of every sale to the credit card company? Yes, but Continued on page 40 >> 39