B2 Payment methods GapFill

There are a range of ways that businesses can be paid, depending on whether a one-off or  widerhigherlowerregular payment is required. Contactless payments may be made in shops, using phone payments, credit cards or  mobiledebitsquareplastic cards. An advantage to the retailer is that payment is received  laterslowlyimmediatelywithin days by their business bank account, without the retailer having to bank cash. However, it is important that customers have the choice to pay in cash as some prefer this. 

Businesses that provide a service in customers' homes may still have to accept a  creditdebitcardcheque or cash if the customer is in a rural area with poor mobile signal or Internet connection, which means they struggle to connect to their bank by phone or computer. For customers with a good connection to their bank, a  direct paymentdebit cardcashcredit card is a secure way to pay a supplier or tradesperson. It is an advantage to all businesses to be paid quickly. 

As well as receiving payments from customers, businesses also have to pay their suppliers. It is unusual for a cheque payment to be acceptable, and invoices now show the bank details of the business. This allows payments to be made directly. Many businesses also use business  credit cardscashoverdraftpayments and issue these to certain staff so they can make immediate purchases on behalf of the business.

Direct debits are an agreement for a business to take regular payments from your bank account. This might be for a magazine  paymentsubscriptionexpensivecost or fuel such as gas or electricity payments. The amount taken by direct debit can change each time payment is made. In contrast, payment by  cashstanding orderdebtmoney is always for the same amount, unless the owner of the bank account changes it. Using direct debits means businesses can ensure they are always paid in full.