As a business owner, it can be overwhelming to learn about all your credit card processing options, and you may need clarification on which one is best for you. We'll go over Dual Pricing in-depth to determine if this credit card processing program may be the one you're looking for. In short, Dual Pricing is to offer two forms of purchasing methods for your consumers, one being credit/debit card and the other being paying with cold hard cash. An example of a company that uses this would be gas stations. You have the option to pay at the pump with your card or to pay inside with cash. This is a great industry to utilize this method, and there are a few more we'll go over to see if this is the proper fit for your company.
This is a relatively newer program in this industry, so even if you are experienced with credit card processing and the programs offered, this may still be new. The payment processing industry has advanced in technology in the past few years to make this a quality alternative for your payment processing needs.
Dual Pricing- Is It Right For You?
To be straight to the point, the best business to utilize this would be a Brick-and-Mortar one. A physical location business that sees most of their transactions face-to-face but also sees a lot of cash AND credit card transactions.
Examples are retailers, boutiques, salons, restaurants, and gas stations.
What Are The Benefits of Using Dual Processing?
When using this program, you can accept cash and credit card payments as an option. If you are familiar with credit card processing, you know that for every payment that occurs, you are roughly charged 2.5% + .10cents. As a business owner, you would profit more if the customer purchased your goods or services with cash. Not only do you benefit, but the customer saves too because the cash option is priced lower than the credit card price. As a business owner, you can set the cash price yourself.
Another notable benefit is that you will be compliant in all 50 states. As a merchant, you MUST distinctively distinguish the different prices. Think of it as the matrix offering the red and blue pill. You must present both alternatives and give them the option to make a choice themselves.
The payment processing industry and space are ever-changing, so utilizing this program can be a safe alternative to other programs that may see a change soon.
Dual Processing, Credit Card Processing, & Your POS System
Your point-of-sale system, which you use to checkout and accept payments at your business, can safely and swiftly integrate Dual-Pricing. Essentially all it will take is a quick update to your system, and now, when the merchant is checking out a customer, they will receive two options on the approach to hit- one being the card pricing and the other being the cash. When a customer chooses one or the other, you push the corresponding option, print the receipt, and bam- that's it.
A standard pricing option to balance the two options is to add 4% to your cash price, which is your credit card pricing. The good thing is that your POS will take care of all this math for you to make it even more effortless to integrate this program.
For example: if the merchant price is $10 for a burger, the cash price would be $10, and the credit card price is $10.40.
Furthermore, for every transaction that takes place, whether it's cash or credit card, your POS will keep track so you will still have accurate reporting on all revenue and profits.
2 Things To Consider If Dual Pricing Is Right For You
Dual Pricing may not be the best option for every business model and this is a quick checklist that you can use to validate if it is right for you or not.
1) Cash Transactions
The most important thing to consider when debating about switching to a new program, is how will that benefit help me? In this case, the benefit of dual pricing is having a cash and card option for your customers. So most importantly, you should be seeing a decent amount of cash transactions in order for this to benefit you the most.
2) Are Your Needs Being Met With Current Payment Processing Program?
A great question to ask yourself is are your current needs being met? A great example I love to use is your phone program. Not every program is best for every customer, some use international data while others need it to just send a few texts a month.
If you're interested in Dual-Pricing for your payment processing program then check this out! We'd love to hop on the phone and have a conversation if it's the perfect fit for your business.
After all this, hopefully you have learned more about Dual-Pricing and whether or not it could potentially be the right program for you. If dual-pricing is sounding like the next program for you then we may be able to assist you, if not then check out our resource page and feel free to view our other blogs, guides, and much more for free!