Hot Business News Today

How to sell anywhere with contactless payments

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Originally written by Dan Matthews on Small Business
The way consumers pay for goods and services has been revolutionised in recent years. From the coins and notes that we have all used for decades, to the smart digital applications of the 2020s, people now have more ways to pay than ever before.
As a small business owner, keeping up with advances in payments technology can feel like a challenge, but in truth getting set up is easier than you might think.
Why go contactless?
Cash remains a popular way to buy. According to the Bank of England, there are around £70bn-worth of notes in circulation, or about £1,000 for every member of the British public.
But plastic has caught up and, in 2017, overtook paper and coins as the UK’s preferred payment method. At the same time, the old-style Chip and PIN method has been joined by contactless as a quick and easy way to settle bills of £45 and under.
Before the coronavirus took hold in the UK, there were 889m contactless payments in February 2020 alone, the vast majority of which were made via credit or debit card. But customers also increasingly use their phones or smart devices to pay.
But at the peak of

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Hot Business News Today

Small business calls for multibillion-pound Covid-19 support package

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Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Small business has asked the chancellor for a multibillion support package to help get it through to the other side of the pandemic.
Mike Cherry, national chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, has written to Rishi Sunak outlining his proposed small business support package.
Measures include a second round of £10,000 grants, a new German-style reimbursement scheme for lost trading, improved terms for state-backed Bounce Back Loans and income support for the newly self-employed.
>See also: Rishi Sunak urged to help self-employed company directors
Small businesses with fewer than 50 employees account for 99 per cent of all businesses in the UK. SMEs account for three fifths of all employment in the private sector.
In particular, the FSB has called for:

Small Business cash grants – a second round of one-off grants of £10,000 through the Small Business Grant Fund (SBGF), plus targeted grants of up to £25,000 for small firms in retail, hospitality and leisure
Revenue Loss Scheme – a German-style scheme to reimburse small businesses for the financial impact of a significant loss in custom, whereby the government would cover a percentage of lost revenue compared to the same time last year. The German version of this

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