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Shaw Merchant Group
Tuesday, May 23 2023

Are you tired of losing a percentage of your sales to the credit card companies? That’s the cost of doing business, right? Where do you draw the line, though? When does it become too expensive to allow customers to pay with credit cards? You can’t just turn credit card paying customers away – that’s bad for business, so what should you do?

Try the dual pricing cash discount program. It helps ease the financial stress on merchants while rewarding cash buyers with a discount. It’s a win-win for everyone.

Understanding the Cash Discount Program

When you use the dual pricing cash discount program, you must make it known that you offer cash buyers a discount on the total cost of the items and customers paying with a credit card pay the full, listed price. This isn’t a surcharge – you aren’t penalizing credit card paying customers. Instead, you’re offering cash discounting or rewarding cash-paying customers.

Here’s an example.

You have a product listed for $20.

John comes in and buys the product for $20, paying with a credit card. John pays $20. Jan comes in and buys the product for $20, paying cash. Jan pays $19.20 because she gets a 4% discount for paying cash.

How Merchants Benefit from the Dual Pricing Cash Discount Program

It may seem strange to advertise that you offer discounts for cash buyers, but it has its benefits:

  • You’ll reduce your cost. The fewer credit cards you process, the less your cost will be.
  • You’ll have access to your funds faster. With more incentive to pay cash, more customers will do so, giving you instant access to your revenue.
  • Fewer credit card purchases means a lower risk of chargebacks.

How the Dual Pricing Cash Discount Works

The process is simple. Just let us know you want to be a part of the Cash Discount Program. We’ll provide you with signage that states the percentage credit card customers will pay if they pay with a credit card.

You go about business as normal, processing payments as you normally do. If you have a credit card paying customer, our terminal will calculate the cost for you. There’s no extra work on your part, and you reward the cash-paying customers with a discount – it’s that easy.

The Cash Discount Program is Great for Business

You may think the cash discount program would turn off your credit card paying customers, but it won’t. A majority of customers don’t mind paying a slightly higher price, (cents on the dollar really) for the convenience of carrying credit cards versus cash.

You and the customers come out the winner in the deal. You show honesty and integrity by providing signage that lets customers know of the price difference if they use a credit card and you reward those that choose to pay cash. Eventually, more customers will catch on and have cash available when they shop at your store - after all, who doesn't love a little discount, right? Take a look below at the summery of benefits:

Lower Processing Fees

The main benefit of a cash discount program is that it results in lower or zero processing fees. While many don’t give a second thought to what the processing fees are on any given transaction, business owners certainly know that these fees do add up and can affect margin in a very real way. When merchants use Edge pricing they are, in effect passing on that processing fee to the customer. Over time, this can save merchants thousands and provide them with a higher margin on their sales.

Discounts for Customers

What customer doesn’t love a discount? Being able to provide every customer that pays in cash with a discount is not only a very marketable promotion, but it helps to make your customers happy. Customers love going to businesses that offer a cash discount because it allows them to feel as if they are getting a good deal and somewhat have control over what they pay at your establishment. When it comes to happy customers, it is very hard to put a price tag on that.

Increased Loyalty/Happiness

When your customers are continuously having positive experiences at your business and are getting to know your establishment as a place that offers a cash discount, that can only help you. This creates loyalty and happiness in your customer base and helps to establish brand and customer loyalty. This is a very valuable asset and it can help to offer consistent cash discounts to your customers.

Easy to Deploy

When you think of implementing a program like this, it can be easy to get overwhelmed and assume that you won’t be able to do it easily. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth. In truth, it is growing increasingly easy to deploy a cash discount program and with all of the resources that we provide to our merchants, it is easier than ever.

What’s Included in Our Cash Discount Program?

With our cash discount program POS, you will be able to process a wide variety of payments from all major credit card providers. This offers your customers even more convenience and helps to build loyalty time and time again.

Free POS Equipment

Don’t worry about the cost of upgrading to a whole new system--we have you covered. We provide free POS equipment to our merchants to once again make working with the Edge program as easy as possible. When you work with us, there will be very little to be worried about.

Fast Funding

We are known for providing fast funding to our merchants. It’s hard to operate a business when your cash flow is being restricted, and that is why we put a focus on making payments accurate, concise, and fast to provide you with a business partner that you can trust to keep your financial interests at the forefront.

Flexible Contracts

Worried about getting locked into a long contract? Don’t be. We don’t believe in limiting the options of our merchants and that is why we offer flexible contract options that don’t lock you in for years at a time. With the Edge cash discount program, you’ll have options, which are extremely valuable to have when operating a business. You can pivot at a moment’s notice, should you need to.

Easy to Understand

From a customer and merchant perspective, operating on a new POS system can be complicated and difficult. That isn’t the case with Edge. We have structured this program to make it as easy as possible to understand and use so that any business can use this program to their advantage.

FAQ 

Is it legal for merchants to offer cash discounts to their customers?

According to the FTC, it is illegal to inhibit the ability of customers to pay cash. Therefore, programs like cash discounts and surcharging are legal and encouraged.

Does a processing fee drive customers away?

Studies show that this isn’t an issue that consumers are worried about. Most consumers are happy to pay an additional small fee for the convenience of using their card.

What happens if I don’t like the merchant cash discount program?

We have flexible contract options so that you don’t have to be locked into a merchant cash discount program that you don’t like. We love providing flexibility to our merchants and agents. We’re confident that you’ll love our program, though.

What’s the difference between this and surcharging?

The act of providing a discount for those that pay with cash is different than charging an additional fee for credit card users. This is confirmed by many of the major credit card associations.

Why should I choose the merchant cash discount program?

We have been in business for years and have a reputation for providing the best merchant programs.

What resources do I need to ensure that I’m running this program correctly?

We provide our merchants with all of the resources that they need to implement and operate this program, including POS systems, back-end systems, and signage to notify their customers of the change.

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    ©2023 Shaw Merchant Group is a registered DBA of EPX, a registered ISO of BMO Harris Bank N.A., Chicago, IL, Fresno First Bank, Fresno, CA, and Citizens Bank N.A., Providence, RI.

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