Caterina Fuscaldo is a glass artist and jewelry designer from Costa Rica. Here she shares her Cashless Pioneer story with MasterCard. Find out how debit and credit card acceptance helped propel her business, Fuscaldo Arte en Vidrio:
I’m Caterina Fuscaldo, and I’m married with two children. I studied Fine Arts with a specialty in glass, and for the first 10 years of my career I worked for larger corporations. Then I decided to start my own small business creating artistic glass designs in order to spend more time at home with my family while working on what truly excites me. As a result, I now have my own workshop at home, where I create home décor items and jewelry through the vitrofusion technique. I sell the items upon request or at expos around Costa Rica.
When I first started my business, my method of payment was “cash only.” However, since most of my clients are tourists and they typically do not carry cash, I had to turn down a lot of sales. I decided to make the switch and start accepting debit and credit cards. Credit card acceptance has helped my business tremendously, as I was able to not only increase my sales but also have more control over them. When I come home after a long day at the expo, I don’t have to spend time counting cash as I just take a look at my statement online. In addition, the money is immediately credited to my account, so I have peace of mind.
Also, accepting debit and credit card payments helped me strengthen the image of my business. Now my clients see it as a formal and serious microenterprise. Requesting a POS has formalized my business for tax purposes, which brings confidence to customers.
I think we should all be encouraged to do what we love. In my case, glass handcrafting is my passion, but having more time to spend with my family is my best reward.
