BluePay Blog

Accepting gift cards for your small business is a simple, effective way to improve sales. Gift cards are easy, convenient options that take the guesswork out of gift giving and allow the recipients to purchase the item or receive the service they desire. There are many benefits of accepting gift cards. Here are just a few:

Topics: Payment Technology, Small Business Tips, Getting Started with Payments

They say that youth is wasted on the young. Nearly all of us wish we could go back in time to shake some commonsense into our younger selves. This universal desire applies to everything from love to health to business. It even applies to retail. Just think of everything you wish you could have told yourself before opening your first store.

Topics: Small Business Tips, Getting Started with Payments

For decades, consumers around the globe relied on “legacy” credit and debit cards when shopping in-person at retail stores. These simple pieces of plastic came with account numbers on the front and a magnetic stripe on the back that allowed users to physically swipe their cards at the checkout counter. The problem was, these magstripe credit cards were relatively easy to clone — even from a distance. This security flaw allowed criminals to steal a user’s payment data and rack up fraudulent charges.

Topics: E-Commerce and Online Payments, Payment Technology, PCI Compliance and Fraud Prevention, Small Business Tips, Payment Trends

Most people are polite, but even the best of us become flustered or downright angry when we encounter bad service or defective products. We’ve all been that customer who calls support or goes to the store in person to “unload.” What about when you’re on the receiving end of these tirades? If you go into business, such exchanges are inevitable. Whether it’s over the phone, via chat or face to face, you need to be prepared in how to deal with unpleasant customers.

Topics: Small Business Tips

ABC’s Shark Tank is an award-winning show in which budding entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas to industry experts who have plenty of money to spend.     The goal of the show is to elicit funding from these angel investors so contestants can take their business ideas to the next level. The competition is stiff, with nearly half of all contestants going home empty-handed as they join millions of other businesses that never survive their first year.

Topics: Fun Posts, Small Business Tips

According to Harvard Business Review, “acquiring a new customer is anywhere from five to 25 times more expensive than retaining an existing one.” Furthermore, older customers spend up to 31% more per purchase than do newer ones. So, if you want to grow your business, investing in customer retention is clearly a winning strategy. One of the best ways to achieve this goal is to launch a loyalty program.

Topics: Small Business Tips

Starting a new business can be both exciting and terrifying. If successful, you face the possibility of leaving your day job and earning more money than you ever dreamed possible. At the same time, there are so many expenses to cover — all before making your first sale. Even for seasoned veterans, navigating the business landscape is inherently risky. However, it’s possible to mitigate some of these risks if you prioritize your finances and spend wisely.

Topics: Small Business Tips, Getting Started with Payments, Awareness

According to historians, the first check was invented in ancient Rome, around 352 BC. It took a couple thousand years for the concept to really catch on, with checks enjoying their heyday during the 20th century.  Despite the advent of faster, cheaper, and more secure payment options, checks remain surprisingly popular. According to the Federal Reserve, Americans write nearly 17 billion checks annually — with an estimated payment volume of $26 trillion.

Topics: ACH/eCheck Payments, Small Business Tips, Getting Started with Payments

The last thing any online or in-store retailer wants is for their customers to abandon their shopping carts. That means a lost sale in the present and the potential for lost sales in the future if the customer decides to not return. However, some retailers have been so accustomed to controlling the transaction process that they have lost touch with what their customers want out of a checkout experience. 

Topics: Due.com Partner Posts, Mobile Payments, E-Commerce and Online Payments, Payment Technology, Small Business Tips, Getting Started with Payments, Payment Trends

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is a broad set of guidelines that govern how organizations should handle credit or debit card information.  It doesn’t matter how large your organization is — or whether it’s a for-profit business or charitable foundation. If you store, transmit, or process payment card data of any kind, you must become (and remain) PCI-compliant. 

Topics: PCI Compliance and Fraud Prevention, Small Business Tips, Getting Started with Payments