Car dealerships move their bottomline into gear with card payments

The Irish automotive industry is a frontrunner when it comes to innovation and trend-setting. With open road racing banned in the UK the Gordon Bennett Rally, now on the road for over 120 years, marked the world’s first motor car race on a closed circuit in the Irish midlands through Kildare, Carlow and Laois. It was in Dublin too, where John Dunlop founded the famous Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Co.

The Irish automotive industry remains future-focussed and ready to meet modern payment solutions. With more Irish customers now fully acquainted with digital transactions, offering card payment options to car buyers is now a point-of-sale necessity rather than an optional payment accessory. Here’s why car dealerships and auto centres have embraced digital payment options.

With more Irish customers now fully acquainted with digital transactions, offering card payment options to car buyers is now a point of sale necessity rather than an optional payment accessory with their ability to increase their bottom-line. Here’s why car dealerships and auto centres have embraced digital payment options….

Accepting card payments helps meet customer expectations

Understanding a car buyer’s needs and ensuring available car options and their features match their expectations is a critical part of a car dealer’s ability to finalise a deal and, in turn, drive sales. Ensuring that a dealership is equipped with the payment options that match a customer’s payment preference is now part of meeting those expectations.

It helps to have card payment facilities at hand for more expensive items like a new or used car, empowering customers to make a transaction without having to leave the dealership.

Accepting card transactions removes customers’ worry about carrying a lot of cash or the headache of completing bank transfer forms. The reliability and security associated with card payments streamlines the final leg of your customer’s purchasing journey.

Card transactions support consolidated reporting and more efficient administration

Seamless, quick and secure transactions are the most obvious benefit from card payments. Additionally, they have the capability to support better administrative practices.

Better oversight of transactions through online reporting portals allow businesses to view time-stamped, transaction details and monthly statements. This reduces time spent on consolidating payments and potential mistakes associated with consolidating cash, cheque and bank lodgements.

It also allows dealerships with multiple locations, like Connolly Motors, to manage and view reports on all terminals across all business premises. Tracing which payments arose from which card terminal and branch means less time on laborious administrative tasks. This allows accounts personnel to concentrate more effort on areas that support better cash flow in their car dealership or auto centre.

Digital payments better support routine cash flow and reduce costs

The possibility for next-day settlement is something all businesses new to cards or thinking of switching should enquire about from any payment provider. This ensures financial peace of mind through better cash flow and budgetary planning compared to cash and cheques lodgements and bank transfers.

Receiving money through digital payments also reduces cash handling and lodgement fees, along with reducing costs associated with manual processing and paperwork.

Pay by Link payment opportunities increases benefits from card payments

Innovative digital payment solutions like BOIPA Collect continue to enhance the added benefits businesses can profit from accepting digital payments. Businesses simply send a secure payment link to customers via email and/ or SMS. This adds to the customers’ experience of security, control and transparency over how and when they pay. It also offers added oversight to business owners and managers by allowing them track payments and send communications in real time with its personalised messaging feature.

Get into gear with BOIPA

Ready to get payments moving? Talk with us today about what payment solution best suits your business needs.