Electronic Payments Helped Me Achieve My “American Dream”

My family and I came to America from Vietnam when I was three-years old with very little. Upon settling in Boston, I invested what resources I had into opening a nail salon. Since then, I feel that I have found my true calling as a small business owner. Over the past ten years, I have owned and operated multiple nail salons and spas and a restaurant. I also plan to open a package store next year.

While I was growing up, my parents ran a small restaurant, which did not accept credits cards. I learned firsthand from their experience that in order to succeed, small businesses must take credit and debit cards for payment.

I have built successful businesses by adapting to my customers’ preferences and ensuring that they have a satisfying experience. That way, they become return patrons of my businesses instead of choosing others in our city. Part of creating a satisfying experience means that I must offer my customers the option to pay with credit and debit cards for any purchase.

Over the past few years, my customers have increasingly preferred to pay with credit and debit cards instead of cash. I choose to accept cards for one simple reason: my customers prefer to pay by card, and if I didn’t take plastic, I’d lose out on sales. Every year, my businesses accept more than $1 million in sales through credit card transactions. If I didn’t accept plastic, my customers would go elsewhere.

Recently, I met a member of Community Merchants USA at a Vietnamese business owners’ roundtable luncheon, and I was thrilled to learn about the work this organization is doing. As a small business owner, I strongly believe that we must be better educated on dealing with electronic payments systems to add the most value to our businesses.

During the roundtable, some of us discussed the advantages of accepting electronic payments, including the opportunity to increase revenues and grow your business. For business owners who remain unconvinced, consider the following statistics. Two thirds of all point-of-sale transactions are made with credit, debit or gift cards, while only 27 percent of purchases are made with cash. 58 percent of small businesses are asked by their customers to accept credit cards on a regular basis, and the majority of consumers between the ages of 18 and 44 say the will only shop at businesses that take multiple forms of payments.

Take it from me—electronic payments helped me achieve my “American Dream,” and they can help your business too!

Category: Blog

Tags: Business Growth, Customer Convenience