When I first thought about starting my own business, I was like many starter entrepreneurs – I worried about money and where to find it. Even an online business needs capital – all those websites don’t get setup and hosted for free, you know, but the costs don’t stop there; if your business goes viral, you’ll worry about how to keep up with demand, or how to find the budget for unforeseen expenses.To address these new-age financial issues, and to showcase how businesses can stay on the forefront, Visa launched a new incentive to start The Visa Cashless Culture, and will be awarding up to $500,000 to 50 eligible US-based small businesses food service owners who commit to going cashless. So, if your dream is to start a food truck, a restaurant, or a low carb high fat snack (like I did), you could be in for a sweet treat!
The Visa Cashless Culture Challenge
When it comes to going cashless, there is a surprisingly long list of benefits for both merchants and consumers alike. In fact, a recent study conducted by Visa found that if businesses in 100 cities transitioned from cash to digital payments, their cities stand to experience net benefits of $312 billion per year.
To extend its vision of leaving cash in the dust as we race towards a cashless culture, Visa is taking over the Formula E New York City ePrix race this weekend offering a 100% cashless and digital payment experience for fans to show what a cash-free world might look like, and to educate people on how they can leverage technology for a safer, and smoother transaction.
In addition, local New York City restaurants, including 2nd City, Fish Cheeks, and Mulberry and Vine are offering their customers cashless experiences during the race weekend. These participating venues are bringing to life paperless, seamless and enhanced payment experiences for their customers over the weekend.
The Benefits of Going Cashless
Visa recently conducted a study that found that if businesses in 100 cities transitioned from cash to digital, their cities stand to experience net benefits of $312 billion per year. According to this study, in New York City alone, businesses could generate an additional $6.8 billion in revenue and save more than 186 million hours in labor, by making greater use of digital payments.
This amounts to more than $5 billion annual costs savings for businesses in New York. The complete results with the benefits of going cashless for businesses will be included in the “Cashless Cities: Realizing the Benefits of Digital Payments” report that will be released by Visa later this year.
For more information, visit https://usa.visa.com/about-visa/cashless.html and @VisaNews.
