Millions of transactions are being processed all across the nation every single minute, and a significant amount of them involve the exchange of cash for goods and services. Consumers often use cash instead of plastic to make daily purchases despite the misconception that cash will one day become obsolete. The exchange of cash will remain popular among consumers since it is easily exchangeable and also allows individuals to pay quickly, efficiently and most of all securely. If you are looking for a cash management system that will help you manage your retail store, then Tidel is a company that can provide you with the best solution for your business.

The myth of cash being a “dying breed” should be demolished. It has been proven again and again that cash is still considered the most inexpensive, secure, universal and efficient form of payment. Several recent debit/credit breaches speak to this fact. According to the Forbes article “The Target Data Breach Is Becoming a Nightmare,” details regarding the scope of the Target data breach continue to develop, which has left individuals more afraid to use their debit/credit cards to purchase goods and services, especially at Target, one of the largest retailers in the nation. In this incident, computer hackers were not only able to obtain consumers’ PINs from their debit cards, they were also able to obtain confidential information, such as their name, address, phone number(s) and/or their email addresses.

Data breaches are not the only thing that individuals who use debit/credit cards have to worry about. There have also been cases were payment networks have been interrupted. For example, in December of 2013, the Belgian card payment network failed, which left millions of shoppers incapable of paying for their items or even withdrawing cash from an ATM. This meant that only those who had cash were able to pay for their items. This outage took place only two days after the processor celebrated its busiest day, with over 5 million transactions.

Millennials seem to favor using cash rather than plastic to make purchases, according to the Credit Union Times piece “Millennial Cash Use Rises: Cardtronics.” The article reports that “while more than half (57%) of millennials reported using a greater variety of payment methods than before, nearly half (45%) of that group also said that they’re more likely to pay more with cash now than they did a few years ago,” ATM servicer Cardtronics reported in the article. “In fact, millennials report increased cash usage at the greatest clip compared with all other survey respondents.”

Despite the rise of alternative payment methods, cash will continue to remain an efficient and secure form of payment. Therefore, retailers need to be aware that millions of individuals will still use cash on a daily basis. Data breaches, system failures and demographics have encouraged retailers to invest in a reliable payment processing system. It is time for you to do the same – dealing with cash can be costing you money if it is not managed properly. To ensure your money is managed appropriately, contact Tidel today!