As we continue to navigate the transition towards a cashless economy in Nigeria, we understand that managing your business finances can be quite challenging. The good news is that with the right strategies, you can effectively transition to a cashless business and efficiently manage your cashless transactions to stay ahead of the game.
Here are some tips that will help you cope with the transition to a cashless economy:
- Embrace digital payments. In today’s world, digital payments are the new norm. It is essential that you familiarize yourself with the various digital payment options available and adopt them in your business operations. This will not only make your transactions more efficient, but it will also help you save time and money and make your transactions easy to track and analyze.
- Build Relationships with Your Bank: Your bank is an essential partner in your business journey. Building a strong relationship with your bank can help you better understand the cashless system and receive guidance on how to navigate it. You should also strive to bank with an institution that offers seamless and reliable online transactions with good uptime on all of its electronic banking channels, including its mobile app, web app, and USSD platform. As the pioneers of Africa’s first fully digital bank, ALAT, Wema Bank remains your most reliable partner for all your digital and online banking transactions.
- Educate Your Customers: As you transition to digital payments, your customers may be skeptical or resistant to the change. It is important that you educate them on the benefits of digital payments and a cashless economy so that they can also join the moving train. With that in mind, it is also important that you make transactions as seamless as possible for these customers in order to build their confidence in the system. This you should do by opening an account with—and running your transactions through—a reliable banking partner like Wema Bank.
- Secure Your Transactions: As you embrace digital payments, it is important to ensure that your transactions are secure. Use reputable payment and banking platforms like ALAT by Wema, and always keep your systems updated with the latest security features. It is also important that you educate yourself and your staff on various aspects of digital security to guard against digital banking-based frauds and scams. Attend webinars organized by Wema Bank’s SME advisory team and other organizations and also read relevant online materials to build your security awareness and consciousness.
- Maintain Good Bookkeeping Practices: Keep your financial records up-to-date. Maintain accurate records of your financial transactions, including digital payments. This will help you track your cash flow, monitor your expenses, and get an overview of your business’s financial health. As we transition to a cashless economy in Nigeria, it is now easier than ever to maintain good financial records, as most of your payments will now be made through digital banking platforms. To make the most of this, it is also very important that you open a dedicated bank account for your business, which is different from your individual account, and channel all your digital banking transactions through this account.
- Stay Up-to-Date: As the cashless economy evolves, it is essential to stay up-to-date with the latest trends, changes, and innovations. This will help you stay ahead of the curve and make informed decisions for your business.
- Go Digital! In today’s dynamic and innovation-driven business world, it is important that you identify and embrace as many relevant digital tools as possible in order not to be left behind in the digital revolution. Artificial intelligence (AI) seems to be the latest trend that will disrupt the business world. It is important that you understand and adopt all the relevant AI tools out there in order to always be a step ahead of your competitors. Similarly, e-commerce is a not-so-new digital platform that has not yet been embraced by many SMEs in Nigeria. Taking your business online will enable you to reach more customers and make more sales, much of which will be facilitated by online payment channels.
- Seek Expert Advice: Wema Bank has a dedicated SME Advisory Services team manned by experienced SME advisors who provide tailored advice on every aspect of business management to help your business grow and reach its full potential. If you need more information on how to transition effectively to cashless payments, how to go digital, or any other aspect of entrepreneurship and business management, reach out to the team by sending an email to SMEhelpdesk@wemabank.com.
We hope that these tips will help you cope with Nigeria’s ongoing transition to a cashless economy. As always, we remain committed to supporting your business to ensure its growth and success through our range of financial and non-financial services.