Retailers seeking to maximise their re-opening and cash-in on post-lockdown shopping should review all business costs and reduce or remove them where possible.
Smartpay Chief Executive Officer Marty Pomeroy encourages SME merchants to shop around for better deals, as a way of being more efficient with their business when reopening.
1. Review transaction fees
“The easiest cost to reduce is also often the most overlooked and card transaction fees can cost some businesses thousands of dollars each year. As Covid-19 hygiene concerns continue to fuel tap‘n go and other contactless payment options over cash, cost of card transaction fees are only going to increase.
“Card payments in 2021 are up 13.1% on 2020 and digital wallet payments have jumped 90% in the same time period with 68 million monthly transactions.This substantial rise in card transaction volume raises retailers’ fees and bites into much needed business profits at a time when retailers need to be financially savvy.”
2. Consider new service providers
“There are usually savings to be made by switching to a new electricity, gas, or mobile phone provider, and it’s a good time to do some competitive research. More and more people are switching their mortgage and insurance away from traditional banking providers searching for a better deal. This path can also be considered for businesses who may use their bank for everything from insurance, loans, and including for their Eftpos terminal.
“More than three quarters (78%) of businesses always stick with the same bank provider but 63% of them believe they could get a better deal by shopping around. Switching to a specialist provider focusing on a particular product or service, can not only save money, but give retailers more confidence through attentive and streamlined customer service and support. Most businesses will by default bundle their Eftpos terminal and transaction services when they open their business bank account.
“Retailers need to understand they do not need a bank to supply their Eftpos terminal and complete transactions but instead, there are Eftpos specialists in the market to assist and help them save.”
3. Re-invest the savings into growing your business
“87% of consumers say they would rather support a local small business and nearly half said they would be willing to pay a bit more for that support. Now is the time to look at innovative ways to save costs and put money back into their business.
“Many of our small business merchants have reinvested the savings back into their business, allowing them to hire more employees, initiate marketing and promotional activities, and even develop loyalty programs to reward and retain loyal customers. Now more than ever while businesses are looking to recover post lockdowns, it’s time to put their business first and review their cost efficiencies to ensure long term success.”
About Martyn Pomeroy
Marty Pomeroy is Chief Executive Officer of Smartpay. He has a detailed understanding of the operational, sales, and commercial elements of the payments industry. Prior to joining Smartpay, he was one of the two founding Directors of Viaduct Limited and was instrumental to the success of the business becoming the third largest provider of Eftpos terminals in New Zealand with an annual turnover of $7 million.
About Smartpay
Smartpay is Australia and New Zealand’s largest independent full-service Eftpos provider, servicing over 30,000 merchants with approximately 37,000 secure and feature-rich Eftpos terminals. In Australia, Smartpay is a payment facilitator providing credit and debit card acquiring through EFTPOS terminals, challenging the traditional payments space, and delivering business owners with payment products especially built for them.
For more information visit smartpay.com.au.
