Remember when cash and checks were your only means to pay for the things you wanted? No? Well, we don’t blame you; it was a long time ago.

There’s always a certain level when you’re running a business. That’s just the name of the game. But when you accept credit card payments from your customers, you’re assuming quite a bit more.

Payment processing makes growth easier.

What? No humans? 

The world is quickly moving toward a subscription-based economy. Where once you would only make payments for large-sum transactions like mortgages, cars, and hospital bills, many businesses have made it a point of pride to offer luxury items on a month-to-month basis. However, this is nothing new. Recurring payments have been around for a long time. Still, businesses are just starting to see the potential of this fast and convenient way of managing payments.

Every business is unique, like a snowflake gently falling to the ground. But there are similarities between various industries, and we need a proper way to separate business types; otherwise, there would be chaos for card issuers. That’s where the Merchant Category Code (MCC) comes into play.

Though considered one of the poorest generations of Americans to date, the average income for Millennials is 69,000 dollars, according to Pew Research. That may sound like a good sum, but you also have to consider the higher than average debt-to-income ratio they have as well (mostly due to student loans). This has created some interesting shopping behaviors among this generation.

Inspiring customer loyalty should be your top priority as a business owner. Not only does it create a dynamic that sets you up for building a better reputation, but retaining an existing customer is both easier and more profitable than acquiring a new one, anyway.

Businesses have always used payment data to make informed decisions. That’s nothing new. But what about using payment data to understand the inner workings of your core customers?