How much cash do you have in your wallet or purse right now?
$25?
Less than a dollar?
If you are like many Americans, you may have very little cash with you on a day to day basis. The reason that so few Americans keep much cash on them is that many tend to pay for everything with a cash, credit, or debit card. Spend $176 at the grocery store, no problem. Just swipe your card.
Spend $2.56 at a fast food drive through, no problem. Just swipe your card.
Need cash before you leave on a plane trip out of town, no problem. Just swipe your card.
Any time of the day or night, cash, credit, and debit cards provide secure payment options anywhere in the U.S. and, in some cases, anywhere in the world.
And while many think nothing of swiping their card hundreds of times a month, others live in fear of credit card fraud and identity theft. To make even the most fearful find comfort in the secure payments of cash, credit, and debit cards, an entire industry works to constantly upgrade and protect the identity and finances of consumers across the country.
Today’s Consumers Depend on Secure Payments Transactions
In America alone, nearly 50% of digital buyers are expected to make mobile payments for purchases in the near future. If you are not already a consumer who makes purchases online, you likely will find yourself doing so in the near future. At a time when carrying cash is becoming less and less common, consider some of the many things that today’s consumers use secure payments transactions for:
- Purchasing online school supplies in an effort to avoid the craziness that is the back to school aisles in retail stores across the country.
- Public school payments needed for yearbooks, spirit wear, activity and athletic passes so that you can avoid the long lines at payment tables at back to school nights.
- College tuition.
- Monthly payments for dance, gymnastics, baseball, football, and voice lessons.
- Once a year homeowners association dues.
- Weekly offering donations to the church that your family has been attending for 20 years
For many, in fact, it is difficult to imagine getting by without our payment cards. For the people who use secure payments transactions for many of the purchases in their lives, the security of their payments is essential.
Merchants Often Bear the Largest Share of Credit Card Fraud
Although consumers are often the ones who seem the most concerned about the safety of their identity and their finances, the fact of the matter is in many cases the secure payment solutions industry also serves the merchants. In fact, many of the fraud charges and losses are absorbed by the merchant, not the consumer.
As a result, merchants contract to work with services and platforms that create and provide secure networks and backup systems, as well as fraud detection and notification. These platforms build systems to help remind, confirm and validate purchases for merchants across the country. The providers also help manage consumer changes and modifications, as well as facilitate smooth transitions for both service and product deliveries.
For while a cardholder may sometimes be held liable for unauthorized charges, in many cases it is the merchant who must share the greater share of the damage. As a result, it is in the best interest of the merchants to work with the most secure and thorough payment solutions providers.
Interestingly enough, 12 % of cases of credit or debit card fraud is initiated on a website. So while the heart of many businesses occur through internet sales, this option can open a merchant up to even more problems if they do not work with a payment solutions company that provides the highest level of security and fraud detection.
It is apparent that as a country we are not going to be returning to the days of paying with cash and coins. For many, paying with credit cards that are verified through payment solution platforms is that way that we do most of our business. While you still may find some who operate on a cash basis, these consumers are becoming less and less common. Payment solution groups hope to limit the $8 billion annual card fraud that is now an annual statistic.
