In the age of the pandemic, the importance of offering members in your organization cashless payment options is crucial for their safety and your long-term financial health.

Look, this isn't the first pandemic that affected society and won't be the last one. There has always been a shutdown risk from a pandemic, just remember SARS to Ebola, H1N1, and others. Those threats were marginalized in the past, where the Coronavirus pandemic was the first to impact societies worldwide. 

To better serve your membership and create a safer workplace should be one of your organization's priorities. By going cashless, you will benefit both your organization and members. 

1. Serve More Paying Members

By going cashless, you're opening up the opportunity for members to make a contribution or purchase that otherwise may not have been able. How often have you been in a situation where you want to make a purchase only to forget you didn't have enough cash on hand? 

Utilizing a cash-free payment opportunity allows more people to contribute or purchase than by limiting it to cash-only options. Your organization can structure how you use cash-free payment options, and some may even have added benefits for cash-free purchase options. 

The ease of purchase and convenience of immediate sale are two significant benefits of using a cash-free payment option. They will give your organization and membership more flexibility in their purchase decision making process. 

2. Data Collection

Users will have to share some of their personal data to access a payment app, and how your organization utilizes members' data should be included in your privacy statement. Every transaction will give insights into your membership's habits, and coupled with a marketing outreach program, will help you better serve those members. 

As you collect personal data, you should be clear on how you plan to utilize it to avoid any possible security concerns such as those addressed by Executive Action issued in late 2020. By having a clear privacy policy you share with your members, you can alleviate any hesitation to shift their payment and donations from cash to a cashless option. 

3. Easy To Collect

With a cash-based payment option, you've increased the opportunity for human error in collecting, recording, and accounting to be possible. But with a cashless payment option, you can open your organization up to be flexible with currencies that aren't limited to your national currency. 

For example, if you have an international reach, you can receive payments via third-party platforms that seamlessly exchange the native currency into your national sly. 

This payment flexibility makes it much easier for your audience and membership to make payments as they choose, from wherever they may be in the world. You can use apps such as Venmo or PayPal, or even set up an option for pay by phone, such as this text to donate to churches function, which is excellent for faith based or other charitable organizations that may have a global reach. 

4. Safer Payments

Cash payments come with several safety concerns that range from health and safety to payment security issues. We know that cash may increase the risks associated with it, but how? 

With any considerable amount of money on hand, there is the temptation that large amounts of unsecured cash may have with some people. Additionally, cash is known to be unsanitary as it passes through our monetary system and passes hand-to-hand. 

Money can collect bacteria and transmit viruses, even collect fecal matter and other human byproducts. The increased risk that exchanges between the two parties involved may contribute to disease spread makes cashless payment options very attractive. 

The move from money to cashless payments also gives your organization and office better security by eliminating many of the risks associated with traditional payment options. This integration between both parties' use of cashless payments will enhance your organization's security. 

5. Improved Accounting 

Collecting cash is time-consuming and leads to the possibility of human accounting errors. Going cashless allows you to lessen any potential for miscounting and make your accounting process more manageable. 

Additionally, by already having the payments accepted through a cashless payment option, you can seamlessly upload your received amounts into your accounting software and banking programs. 

This integration between your revenue sources and your accounting software will save you tons of time, labor, and money for your organization and make your accounting processes more efficient. 

The age of cashless payments is upon us. How flexible your organization is with payments is something you need to evaluate. There are multiple benefits with cash-free payments, from added safety in purchases to the opportunity to collect membership data to public health concerns.