Credit Cards Help Keep Our Community Theater in the Spotlight

Back when it first opened, Temple Theatre served as a touring house for the road shows of the 1930’s. Today, the theatre is a National Historic Site and vibrant performing arts center, a home for plays, musicals and live music performances in the Sandhills of North Carolina.

The types of performances and programs we offer aren’t the only thing that’s changed over the years. Back in the early days of the theater, cash was the only option. But today we find many of our customers don’t carry cash at all.

Customers ranging from teens to seniors routinely tell us that credit card payments are the most convenient way for them to enjoy our shows, and 95% of our payments come from credit cards. I know that if we didn’t accept credit card payments our business would suffer, and we would have fewer customers. We could not run this theatre without them.

Credit cards are a positive way for merchants like us, banks and third-party providers to work together for the benefit of the consumer. In the end they’re the ones driving our business, so we want to make sure they enjoy their experience from beginning to end at our theatre. That starts with offering a hassle-free, convenient way to purchase tickets. Thanks to electronic payments, customers can buy tickets 24/7 online or quickly pay on their way into the theater with just a simple swipe. They don’t have to worry about stopping by the box office in advance or finding an ATM before the show.

In addition to ticket sales, electronic payments have also been a huge asset to our fundraising efforts. As a non-profit theater, we rely on donations to fund our educational youth programs, employ local artists and continue to make the performing arts accessible in central North Carolina. About 50% of our revenue comes from ticket sales, so we rely on grants and donations a great deal.

When we use the mobile payments processor Square for fundraisers, such as golf tournaments, raffles and auctions, our supporters’ generosity isn’t limited by the amount of cash they have on hand. Since it’s light-weight, portable and easily connects to our smartphones, Square is especially useful when we host off-site events. It’s proven to be an invaluable tool for us to add extra income streams that keep our historic theatre up and running.

At Temple Theatre we’re working hard to keep the performing arts relevant and accessible to modern audiences, and electronic payments help us make that happen. From ticket sales to fundraising, accepting credit and debit cards has made a huge difference to our theater. Without them, we could be facing our final curtain call.