For businesses in today’s economy, it’s accept credit cards as a means of payment or risk going under. Customers are no longer interested in carrying cash and many younger consumers probably don’t even know what a check is let alone how to fill one out. It’s all about going cashless and making payments via credit cards and debit cards. As such, savvy business owners establish a credit card payment system so they don’t miss out on major business opportunities.

If you’re still operating in the Dark Ages of cash and check processing, consider these nine advantages of credit card payment services:

1. E-commerce is huge
   
   Every 30 seconds, e-commerce generate $931,490 in desktop sales across the globe. Mobile devices account for another $269,683 in sales every 30 seconds on top of that. There’s no easy way to grab a bite of that market without offering online secure payment options.
2. Cyber Monday blows Black Friday out of the water
   
   Sure you could live a life of feast an famine by luring customers into your physical store with sales and events. But even your feasts won’t be as grand as those available to online retailers. Just take a look at the numbers from Cyber Monday. As far back as 2012, the online shopping fest was dwarfing sales generated by the more classic Black Friday. Black Friday’s sales for the year grew as projected, but Cyber Monday’s blew the estimates out of the water. The shopping spree grew by 17% year on year, generating $1,500 million in sales in 2012 alone. Physical storefront sales are good, but cyber sales are phenomenal at generating revenue.
3. Online sales are larger
   
   According to 2015 data, consumers are often swayed by incentives purchasing expensive items online. The result is the average shopper will spend a lot more online than they will in the store. For U.S. retailers, this means an average order size of $78 per order.
4. The more payment options you offer, the more sales you’ll receive
   
   Nearly 80% of Visa and MasterCard holders say businesses should offer as wide an array of payment options as possible, regardless of the nature of the business. As many as 82% of American Express holders agree. Why make paying for a purchase harder than it needs to be on your customers? Don’t risk losing valuable sales because your payment options are limited.
5. Consumers spend more freely with credit cards
   
   The other side of that coin is credit cards make spending easier for consumers. Not only are credit cards convenient, but they also offer that handy, 30-day grace period. As such, consumers can buy today what they can’t afford until tomorrow. The result is a greater willingness to spend and an increased size and speed of purchases made. They also increase the likelihood of impulse purchases. Credit is good for business, even if not always good for consumer’s wallets.
6. Credit cards have higher limits than wallets
   
   Anyone who has ever tried carrying large quantities of cash around knows how challenging that is. Even the lowest credit limits provide far more funds than the average wallet can carry.
7. You receive funds from purchases faster than with checks
   
   Checks can take anywhere from 4 days to over a week to clear. With a credit card payment, you’ll receive your funds in a few days at most.
8. Credit cards guarantee payment (unlike checks)
   
   With credit cards, the credit card company takes on the risk of insufficient funds, not your business. No more worrying about checks bouncing or fraudulent bills; a credit card is a far safer means of accepting payment.
9. Private label credit cards
   
   As you grow, you could even consider offering your own private label credit card. A private label credit card will allow you to gather more information about your customers: from their purchases and buying habits to their income and demographics. This can be a major asset to your marketing team by helping you target those consumers who are most likely to buy.

Ready to establish a debit and credit card payment system for your business? You won’t be sorry. As the younger generations start claiming the most purchasing power, we’re likely to see accepting credit cards expected as a rule, instead of a mere courtesy. This is one rule you’d be wise not to break.