5 Common Misconceptions about Cashless Payments and How to Convince More Customers to Go Digital

Cashless payments have taken the Philippine consumer market by storm. Recent reports indicate that a majority of Filipinos already use cashless payments for a large proportion of their transactions, with many envisioning a mostly cashless economy in the very near future.

However, many emerging Philippine-based startups and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) still have misconceptions about cashless payments that may be harming their growth potential. Here are a few of the outdated or outright false ideas about going cashless that may be keeping your business and its customers from riding today’s digital payments wave:

Misconception #1: Digital Payments are Only for Tech-Savvy Businesses

Many businesses don’t want to bother interrupting their regular operations just so they can train their staff how to use a card swipe machine or scan QR codes. However, if you choose the correct technology provider, it will only take a few hours to train staff on how to use a credit card swipe machine or other modern card terminal machine. 

Some card machines like the Maya Terminal and Maya Terminal Lite are built on the highly popular Android platform, which means your staff should already be able to operate the devices intuitively and with minimal instruction.

Misconception #2: Cash-Only Transactions are Safer

Filipino customers and Philippine-based small businesses have both been resistant to cashless payments because of an ongoing perception that transacting with physical cash is safer. But this is not necessarily true. Physical cash is prone to misplacement, damage, and theft. Even worse, when you lose physical cash, it’s gone for good. Cashless payments, on the other hand, offer ways to reverse charges or limit your losses.

Misconception #3: Only Rich Customers Can Do Cashless Payments

This is another misconception that simply does not hold water. With the rise of popular digital wallets like Maya, cashless payments have become mainstream. Visa’s Consumer Payments Attitude Study of 2023 found that 62% of respondents said that they carried less cash because digital options were available. Moreover, the same study found that 82% of Filipinos had attempted to go cashless in 2022. In this day and age, not having a credit card POS or point of sale system is now a surefire way to lose customers, regardless of your target market.

Misconception #4: It’s Hard to Go Cashless

Services like Maya make it easy for small businesses of any type to quickly accept cashless payments. Whether you need a card payment machine for your physical store or a purely online solution for your e-commerce site, going cashless has never been easier.

Misconception #5: Cash is Cheaper Because There are No Fees

Normal cash carries a lot of risks, including safety, transportation, and management challenges. Whether you count, store, and transport the cash yourself or you pay employees to do it, there is an associated time and monetary expense associated with physical cash all the same. And while many cashless options do have associated transaction fees, the much lower risks, speed, and convenience of cashless payments tend to far outweigh any drawbacks.

How to Convince More Customers to Go Digital

Tip #1: Offer Discounts and Other Incentives

Once a customer goes cashless, they stay cashless. The key is to get them started. Offering discounts and incentives for cashless payments can encourage your customers to choose cashless payments the next time they’re at your store.

Tip #2: Educate and Assist Your Customers 

Despite the rise in cashless payment technologies, there will still be a chunk of your customer demographic that’s wary of them. Help your customers overcome their hesitance by educating them on cashless transactions and assisting them with their first few cashless transactions.

Be sure to allocate some of your marketing budget to instruct customers on how to make cashless payments in your store. Most importantly, train your staff not only in the proper use of your credit card terminal, but also in the right approaches to helping customers use such a device.

Tip #3: Make the Cashless Payments as Easy as Possible

Choose a card terminal solution that offers the least friction for completing customer payments. The easier it is to use your system, the better the chances your customers will go cashless the next time they shop at your store.

Get Paid with Maya Cashless Payment Solutions

Maya Business offers you more than just a credit card machine—it also gives you a full range of options for accepting payments and growing your business. Apart from its popular Maya Terminal and its ultraportable Maya Terminal Lite devices, Maya Business also gives Philippine-based startups and SMEs several ways to accept any cashless payment over the Internet. Create a Maya Business Manager account today to enjoy seamless payments, online and offline.

Creating a Maya Business Manager account also lets you enjoy unique deals like the Maya 1-2-3 Grow bundle. Maya 1-2-3 Grow gives you 1% merchant discount rate (MDR) on all QR Ph transactions made through Maya Business solutions. This means you’ll save PHP 14,600 in transaction fees for every PHP 1 million in QR Ph sales during the 3 months the Maya 1-2-3 Grow promo is active. On top of the free fund transfers you’ll enjoy via PesoNET and InstaPay as part of the Maya 1-2-3 Grow bundle, you will also earn 2.5% p.a. interest on your Maya Business Deposit account when you designate it as your settlement account. Signing up for the Maya 1-2-3 Grow bundle also entitles you to a Maya Flexi Loan offer as large as PHP 2 million within 3 months. Sign up for Maya Business Manager today to unlock more perks and rewards with the Maya 1-2-3 Grow bundle.