7 Salon Payment Methods Accepted in Most Salons
If you’re running a salon or spa and want to find out how to accept payment, you’re at the right article. The three methods of payment accepted in most salons are cards (debit card/credit card), online transfers, and cash. But nowadays, with new technological advancements, there are many salon payment methods available. Let’s explore the 7 most widely used payment acceptance ways. Later, we will also discuss different point of sale (PoS) systems available in the market for salons and spas.
Most Popular Salon Payment Methods
We have included the top 7 ways by which salons can accept the payments.
1. Online transactions
Most salons use online booking and scheduling software that includes a payment processor also. So, customers pay the full or partial amount online when they reserve the salon services.
Payment gateway partners, like Stripe, PayPal, and Tilled, generally charge 2.9% + $0.3 per transaction.
If salons or any small businesses use software like Yottled, they can avoid paying payment processor’s fees. Yottled is 100% free for businesses. Yottled gives the option to businesses for shifting those charges on their customers’ bills, making them instantly increase revenue by 3%.
2. Payment cards acceptance with PoS on-premises
Point of sale (PoS) is a physical machine that salons have to accept payments. We have covered the PoS system in detail in the next section.
3. Checks/Cheques
Although bank checks are old school way of payment, some people still use them. However, salons have become reluctant to accept checks due to check-bouncing issue and fraud.
4. Gift cards
Another popular payment method is gift cards, especially in spa and massage centers. Gift cards can be physical cards or virtual ones. Most of the software and PoS support gift cards.
5. Rewards redemptions
Many salons and beauty parlors have loyalty programs where they offer points for certain service purchases. Customers can redeem those points for a service or discount. For example, “20 reward points for a haircut. And 1 free facial on 200 points redemptions.”
6. Cash
Although it is one of the simplest salon payment methods, it is a risky one. Due to the risk of theft, misplacement, and even armed robbery, keeping cash on the register counter should be avoided.
7. Payment through mobile phones with digital wallets
Online wallets like Amazon Pay, Google wallet, V.Pay, etc. are getting popular these days. Many salons allow customers to make payments using those virtual wallets. The payment can be done with barcode scanning, near-field communication (NFC) technology, or via the registered phone number or email address.
Point of Sale for Salons
Most of the salons have PoS machines to accept the payment. These machines are easily available online or in hardware stores. Here are some examples.
Point of sale terminal
This is a big payment terminal with a computer touch screen. It comes with the traditional card-swiping or NFC technology. These terminals have storage capacity, backups, and printing facilities, too. Some of these terminals are all-in-one including card reader, NFC, and invoice printing. While with old generation PoS terminals, you need to buy a separate card reader and attach it using a wire or with Wi-Fi.
They handle
- Cash transactions,
- Payment cards
- Digital wallets
- Reward point redemption
- Gift card redemption
Image source: Amazon.com
Traditional PoS machine
In these traditional card readers, the payment card is inserted or swiped. It reads the card’s magnetic field and deducts the payment. Its price ranges from $150 to $350.
PoS with NFC technology
Many salons and spas accept payment with the latest PoS machines that use near-field communication (NFC) technology. Instead of inserting the card inside the machine, it reads the card details via a wireless system. They can also accept money from cell phones’ digital wallets.
They have a mobile-like touch screen to enter salon transaction details, amount, tips, and even details of physical products. Just like traditional PoS machines, NFC machines can also print out receipts.
Price: These machines range between $100 to $250.
This is what PoS with NFC technology looks like.
Image source: Amazon.com
FAQs on Salon Payment Methods
Describe three methods of payment accepted in most salons.
Payment cards (debit cards and credit cards), cash, and bank transfers are the 3 payment methods accepted in most salons. In general, salons use point of sale (PoS) machines and facilitate online payments to process the transactions. Redemptions of rewards points and gift cards have also become quite popular since the last decade.
How salons can avoid paying payment partners’ fees?
Software like Yottled gives you the option to transfer transaction charges on your customers. Customers’ final bill will increase by approx. 3%, which, currently you (businesses) are paying. Yottled is 100% free for businesses.
