Direct debit is a payment method where the payer agrees to transfer money from their bank account to the biller’s bank account at a fixed time each month. This means that you can get paid automatically, and you don’t need to chase your customers for payments because they do it themselves. Here are reasons why you need direct debit payments as a business:
1) You get more business
If people want to use your service or buy your product, offering them a payment plan will incentivise them to come back in future months. When you take out a subscription-based website, most of them will ask if you want monthly/weekly/yearly billing options when signing up. If people see that there is no one-off fee and they don’t have to pay at each point of purchase, you will get more business.
2) You can spend your time better
Direct debits mean that you don’t need to handle payments yourself. Once a client agrees to use direct debit, make sure you let them know when the next payment is due (and remind them if it’s due soon!). This saves you from having to go through invoicing and chasing customers for payments – two tasks that require time that could be spent doing something else.
3) You can focus on selling yourself/your products
With less time spent on payments, you’re free to dedicate more attention to your company’s marketing strategy. And with direct debit payments, people don’t have to worry about paying each time they use your service or buy a product from you. This can help increase customer retention and get more customers using the service/buying the products, which will get you more sales.
4) You can get advice from experts
If you need advice on how to take payments from customers, many different companies offer payment services. You could go directly to Square or Stripe, for example – both of whom provide small business payment solutions in addition to direct debit options.
5) You don’t have to worry about fraud
People are more inclined to make an online payment if they can use direct debit instead of paying for the service or product at the point of purchase. This is because people trust these sorts of payments thanks to security measures like 3D Secure (which you might know as Verified by Visa and Mastercard Securecode).
The benefits of direct debit payments for your business are numerous, and the process is easy to set up. If you’re not already using them, it’s time to get on board with this convenient payment option that will save you money in the long run. Direct debit payments can be a great way for businesses to increase efficiency while saving costs at the same time. Click here for the cheapest direct debit service!