Most of us know that we spend a lot of time on our smartphones. If you track how much time we spend on various apps, such as Instagram, you’ll be well aware of how much we’re texting and what we’re watching.

According to various sources, around half of the world’s population uses smartphones. It’s estimated that there are around 5.2 billion people globally who use mobile devices. It’s fascinating to see how much these devices are used in our daily lives.

Americans check their phones an average of 262 times a day, and they’re more likely to do so within 10 minutes of waking up. A majority of us also admit to texting while driving. A third of us admit to using our phones while on a date.

Given these facts, it’s time for businesses to start embracing the mobile-centric world and allow their customers the ability to text to pay with their phones. This process is very quick and easy to implement, and it’s beneficial for both businesses and their customers.

Reasons to Offer Your Customers Text-to-Pay

1. It’s Easy

A business will send a notification to its customers when invoice payments are due, and customers will be able to authorize the payment by simply answering a text message. This method is very convenient and quick to implement, as it eliminates the need for a check or a call to make a payment.

2. It’s Convenient

According to various sources, people are more likely to open a text message than an email when it comes to viewing payment reminders. Customers are more likely to act on them immediately.

3. Improves Cash Flow

Text-to-pay can help businesses reduce their days sales outstanding (DSO) and improve their cash flow, which is beneficial for small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs), as it allows them to make payments to their vendors faster and avoid having to spend money on capital expenditures. Unfortunately, cash flow constraints are still a major issue for many small businesses, as they can prevent them from paying their vendors and issuing timely pay.

4. Meets Customer Demand

According to a survey, over 70% of business professionals prefer to send and receive text messages rather than email. Also, when it comes to accepting payments using text-to-pay, the number of people under 35 who are interested in doing so is significantly higher.

Although it’s easy to set up and implement, it’s still up to the customers to decide which payment method they want to use. After all, as with other text-based services, they must first opt-in to enable the service. They can select their preferred method of payment, which is usually debit or credit cards, or an alternative payment method such as an ACH. This allows customers to make their own decisions and improve their loyalty.

5. Reduces Administrative Costs

Although text-to-pay doesn’t completely eliminate the work involved in making an invoice, it can help reduce the amount of time and effort that the seller has to spend handling the various details of the transaction. Since the payor has already provided the necessary information, it’s no longer necessary for them to manually handle the payment cards and other related documents.

Less than 4% of small businesses accept text-to-pay as a payment option. This means that those that are early adopters of this payment method can gain a significant advantage over their competitors.

6. Enhances Overall Customer Experience

The concept of customer experience, or CX, is a widely used term that describes a company’s overall customer experience. Although it’s commonly used to refer to a specific aspect of a business, it can also encompass other factors that affect a customer’s perception of the company.

Despite the immense impact that Amazon has on commerce, it’s still important to note that customer retention is a vital part of the company’s operations. Harvard Business School claims that increasing the retention rate by 5% can boost a company’s profits by up to 95%.

To improve a company’s customer experience, you can implement text-to-pay. You don’t have to be Amazon to implement this payment method, and it’s still up to the payor to take advantage of the option.

Author’s 

Harley