The penny may be dead but cash is still out there, though it’s on the decline. Less cash is changing how businesses operate and people buy. This shift brings new opportunities and costs.
It also brings new chances to serve each customer better. The shopping cart checkout is not just a step. It is the battleground for winning sales and loyalty. The stores that make checkout fast, safe, and personal will stand out.
Payments are going digital
Cash used to be king. Now, many people pay with phones, watches, or tap-to-pay cards. They send money to friends with person-to-person apps.
They buy online from their couch. During the pandemic, people moved to touch-free and online payments. Those habits stayed. Today, it is normal to tap, scan, or click instead of handing over bills and coins.
Bryan Long, Senior Director of Product Management, North adds, “Payments have shifted from a background function to a customer experience product. Treat checkout like a roadmap priority and it can pay back in conversion, loyalty, and data. Personalization starts with how people pay. When we show the right payment option first and make it one tap, abandonment drops and approvals climb.”
Why do people like digital payment options? They are fast. They are easy. It feels safer. It fits our mobile lives. You can pay with a phone you already carry, and check out with one tap. You can store cards in a digital wallet.
You can buy in an app, pick up in the store, and return by mail. This mix across channels is now part of daily life.
Stores see this change too. Many now accept wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay. Many offer buy online, pick up in store. Many add Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) at checkout.
Banks and networks also push instant bank-to-bank options, often called real-time payments (RTP). In short, money is moving in new ways. Cash is still here, but it is no longer the default for many shoppers.
Store operations are changing
Going digital cuts some old costs. It also adds new work. Businesses must handle new fees, new systems, and new risks.
The winners will balance savings with smart tech and strong partners. They will plan for outages, watch for fraud, and use data to make better choices every day.
The new cost picture for merchants
With cash, stores pay to count and move money. Staff sort bills, managers make bank runs, and owners buy safes, cameras, and cash drawers. Each night brings drawer match-ups, plus the risk of theft or fake bills. These costs add up.
With digital, many cash costs shrink, but new ones rise. Card payments bring interchange, network, and processor fees. BNPL and wallets have their own pricing. Real-time payments may cost less than cards, but they need new tools and have different rules.
Choice also has a cost. Shoppers want many ways to pay, so stores connect to multiple rails. Each rail means contracts, tech setup, testing, and reporting. Businesses also need smart routing to lower fees and keep approvals high.
Reliability matters. With cash, sales can continue if a reader fails. With digital, an outage can stop sales cold. Even a short downtime hurts. Set backups and failover, real-time alerts, clear uptime goals, and a simple outage plan.
Updating POS and payment systems
Many businesses are moving toward more connected checkout systems that bring payments and basic commerce tools into one place.
In these setups, the same core platform can support in‑store and online payments, help manage curbside pickup and returns, and allow gift cards and loyalty rewards to be used across multiple sales channels.
A connected system shows real-time inventory, links carts across devices, speeds checkout and returns, and cuts duplicate tools. Staff can help on the floor with a mobile device, and customers can buy online and return in store. This builds trust and saves time.
More digital also means more security work. It is essential to comply with PCI DSS protocols and use encryption and tokenization, limit access, and test often. Train staff and check vendors. The right setup can lower risk, protect your brand, and avoid fines.
Fighting digital fraud and chargebacks
Businesses used to worry about stolen cash and fake bills. Now the risks are digital: friendly fraud, synthetic identities, account takeovers, bots, and scams that target support teams.
Stores can also reduce online purchase chargebacks with simple steps:
- Use clear product names and exact pictures.
- Send honest shipping dates and tracking numbers.
- Share easy return rules and stick to them.
- Use strong 2-step checks for logins and big buys.
Small steps can help lower disputes and protect both the store and the shopper by making payments clearer and safer.
Clear receipts, simple refund rules, and accurate charges mean shoppers are less likely to be overcharged, get confused about a purchase, or end up stuck in an argument over a problem.
The opportunity: Make checkout personal
The story is not only about cost and risk. Digital also opens a new door. Every digital payment creates data. This data can make the whole shopping trip better. It turns checkout from a cost center into a growth engine.
Data powers a better experience
Digital payments can create basic sales records, such as what was bought, when it was bought, and where the transaction took place. With the right tools, this information can help merchants see overall patterns in their business, like popular items or busy times across locations.
These insights can be used outside the payment step. For example, merchants can look at reports to see which products sell faster in certain stores and adjust inventory across locations. This can help reduce out‑of‑stock moments and limit waste.
Gift and loyalty tools can also support service. When customers choose to participate in a loyalty program or use gift cards, merchants can see eligible rewards and past purchases linked to that profile and respond with appropriate offers or support.
Any use of customer information should be thoughtful, transparent, and based on appropriate consent and permissions.
Merchants should consult their own legal counsel to understand requirements related to data collection, use, and storage in the locations where they operate and under applicable law.
Tailored ways to pay and faster flow
Payment choice can be part of a better shopping experience. A connected checkout can support cards, wallets, cash, gift cards, and point‑based loyalty in one flow, so people can use the options that work best for them.
Simple design choices also matter. Put the most commonly used payment buttons first. Show the full total early, including taxes and fees. Offer clear pickup and delivery choices. Allow guest checkout when possible. Use plain, direct language. These steps can reduce confusion and help checkout feel quicker and easier.
Build in loyalty and helpful extras
A digital checkout can also boost loyalty in the moment. It can let customers earn points as they pay, redeem eligible rewards at checkout, and use gift cards as part of a smooth, integrated payment flow.
By tying purchases to customer profiles and point balances, each visit contributes to visible progress toward rewards, making the experience feel like added value instead of just another transaction.
Some businesses go further with embedded finance. Payments fade into the background and support the service. Think of auto-reorders when a customer has almost run out of your product.
Think simple subscription management, with pause or skip options. Think of easy returns and instant store credit. The smoother these processes are, the more people will come back.
You can also add services that build trust:
- Free store pick up with fast alerts.
- Price match rules that are clear and fair.
- Easy warranties with simple claims.
- Digital receipts that link to help and returns.
These extras build a habit of coming back.
What leaders should do now
Business leaders and owners should focus on how cash and digital payments work together. First, build a strong foundation so your stores can confidently handle both cash and digital payments at checkout.
Second, keep improving the payment experience for customers, whether they pay with bills, cards, or phones. Use the right technology, the right partners, and clear goals. Start small, move quickly, learn from each change, and share what works across teams, from finance to operations to marketing.
Build a flexible, future-proof payment stack
Set up your payment system in small, simple pieces so you can quickly add new ways to pay and try new checkout ideas without starting over each time.
- Support both cash and digital: Design checkout so cash, cards, and wallets all work seamlessly, with clear flows for each. Make it easy to switch a transaction from digital to cash (and back) when a customer changes their mind or a device goes down.
- Design for resilience: Assume card networks, internet, or terminals can fail. Keep basic cash acceptance running during outages, and train teams with simple steps for moving from digital to cash when systems are slow or offline.
- Balance cost, speed, and experience: Cash has no processing fee but adds handling time and risk; digital can cost more per transaction but speeds lines and supports loyalty and data. Use both strategically. Encourage digital where it improves conversion and operations, but keep cash as a reliable, low‑tech safety net.
Include everyone and prepare for rules
Not everyone uses cards or phones. Some people are unbanked or underbanked. Some just prefer cash. Also, some cities and states require stores to take cash. So do some countries. To stay fair and legal, build a hybrid plan.
Offer prepaid or store cards that can be loaded with cash at the register. Let people order online and pay in store with cash or a code.
Add cash-to-digital kiosks in select spots. Keep at least one cash lane in areas that need it. Make sure your signs and websites explain options clearly, in simple words and in the main languages your customers use.
Watch other rules too. These include privacy laws and network guidelines. Be clear about how data is used. Ask for consent when needed, and honor it. Let people opt out of some data uses. Protect all personal data with care. Simpler, safer experiences build trust, which is the base of loyalty.
Merchants should consult their own lawyers to understand legal requirements related to data collection in the relevant locations under applicable law.
Train your teams. Teach staff how to spot scams and help customers use new payment types. Give customer service tools to solve payment issues fast.
Share a short playbook for outages, returns, and disputes. When teams know what to do, the whole store runs smoother.
Make every transaction count
Less cash is not just a shift in costs. It is a chance to rethink the checkout. With the right setup, each digital payment does double duty. It moves money and powers insight. It protects the store and delights the customer. It drives repeat visits and word of mouth.
The future belongs to merchants who master safe, flexible, and personal digital payments. Now is the time to build that edge and make every transaction count.
Sources
- GR4VY, 14 retail payment trends in 2025: key shifts merchants need to know, (July, 16, 2025) retrieved November 28, 2025
- Discover Global Network, 5 Consumer Payment Trends Shaping How We Pay in 2025, (Nov 26, 2025), retrieved Nov 28 2025
- Huntington, The digital payment revolution: Key trends driving change, retrieved November 28, 2025
- Airwallex, Top 10 online payment statistics 2025, (Aug 19, 2025) retrieved November 28, 2025
- Worldline, 10 key payment trends shaping the market in 2025 - and why they matter for software providers, (Sept 09, 2025) retrieved November 28, 2025
- The Federal Reserve, 2025 Diary of Consumer Payment Choice reveals U.S. consumer trends in cash usage and digitalization (June 3, 2025) retrieved November 28, 2025
North is a leading financial technology company that builds innovative, frictionless end-to-end payment solutions designed to simplify and grow businesses of all sizes. From the front door, to the back office, the developer world, and partnerships that expand the payments landscape, North offers proactive, comprehensive merchant services, in-house processing, and more.
