Credit cards are excellent ways to transfer value from consumers to business owners, without the security concerns of cash or the uncertainty of issuing store credit. Back in the day, general stores could offer credit to worthy citizens in their towns without too much trouble, because everyone knew each other.
These days, with mobile card readers from companies like SumUp and others, the possibilities of credit cards are greater than ever before. You can pay for anything almost anywhere. Using your mobile phone to take payments, or even your tablet, can open up your business to even new heights. But this is a new era.
Before there was plastic, exchanging money for goods and services was a time-consuming process that could sometimes turn dangerous. Walking around with cash was a recipe for disaster is there were nefarious forces afoot. Using a plastic card that has no value in and of itself provides a lot of advantages. It can allow you to delay paying your bill until you have the money, as long as you pay a bit of interest on it.
The modern credit card came into being in the middle part of the 20th century, when Diners Club and American Express became ubiquitous in the United States of America. They brought the idea of paying for something with a card to the mainstream and then American Express became the first actual plastic card, rather than cardboard in your wallet. American Express had started in 1850 as a private alternative to the federal Post Office. Once it got into the money business, it was on its way to being a pioneer in credit cards.
Once banks started offering their own cards and, in turn, allowing customers to carry an actual balance from month to month, the modern credit card industry was born. So, then companies that knew how to execute a credit card terminal began to spring up all over the country and the world. The growth of these ancillary industries is quite important to the how credit cards changed the modern economy.
As credit card tech has evolved, starting with the first magnetic stripe from IBM in the early 1960s, innovation has played a large role in the industry. Nowadays, RFID cards, those with NFC and Bluetooth enabled cards to have brought the mobile card industry to another level. Now you can store your payment information in your phone and use that to pay for goods and services.
The world is well on its way to being a cashless society, with the benefit of convincing driving that trend. Being able to pay for anything almost anywhere is a great benefit to consumers. And so, business owners need to be ready for that. And it is cheaper than ever to be able to do that. All you need is a little bit of technology and willingness to pay a small transaction fee for each purchase, but the possibilities are there. Welcome to the future. It is time to get on board.