What are mobile payments?
Mobile payment technology is changing the way we pay for goods and services. Mobile payments are a type of contactless payment made from a mobile wallet or app instead of cash, card or check. While contactless payments were a little slow to gain traction initially, mainstream adoption is quickly picking up. The coronavirus pandemic has pushed the trend further, in large part due to the heightened public sensitivity to germs and cleanliness.
By 2025, analysts estimate that nearly 60% of the world’s population will have a mobile wallet. Whether or not you’ve adopted contactless payments for your business, you’re probably familiar with the major players in the industry.Â
Types of contactless payment options for small business
Contactless payment using QR Code payment is becoming more and more popular. Companies like Square, PayPal, and Venmo offer mobile payment solutions with a QR Code imprinted on a case or sticker. The customer simply scans the code on their smartphone to make payments from their debit card or pre-loaded PayPal balance.
Contactless mobile payments are becoming increasingly popular and you might want to consider using them at your business. If so, it’s important that you understand which types of payment systems are available, as well as how the technology works and what benefits it has over other types of payment systems.
Near Field Communication (NFC): Contactless payments, or NFC (near field communication) payments, offer a convenient way not just to pay for items but also to replace your regular credit and debit cards. Paying with the simple, secure, and private since it uses your actual account information to complete the transaction.
Read More: Top Payment Gateways – Role, Architecture, Integration, & How it Functions?
Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST): Samsung Pay is a mobile payments solution for Android smartphones, developed by Samsung Electronics. Samsung Pay uses magnetic secure transmission (MST) and near-field communication (NFC) to send payment information from a mobile device to credit card terminals for payments. Magnetic secure transmission is also known as mag stripe emulation.
Quick Response (QR) codes: Contactless payment using QR Codes is becoming more and more popular. Companies like Square, PayPal, and Venmo offer mobile payment solutions with a QR Code imprinted on a case or sticker. The customer simply scans the code on their smartphone to make payments from their debit card.
Benefits of accepting mobile payments
More convenient for your customers: A receipt is not just a receipt. It’s a record of the transaction, which you can use to provide excellent customer service and run reports to analyse your cash flow. You don’t need to be an expert with technology to understand how big of an impact accepting mobile payments could have on your bottom line.
Higher customer retention: With mobile NFC payments, you can take your business to the next level. Smartphones are common and many consumers feel more comfortable using their phones than cash or card. With no need for a special terminal, you can start accepting NFC payments today!
Less overhead: NFC payments are the fastest to deploy, easiest to use and most secure way to process all of your payments. More than that, you could cut out or replace some of your existing overhead with a single mobile processor — credit card machines, computers and stacks of folders filled with physical receipts.
Easy to get started: If you are looking to get started with mobile payments, choose a company that offers branded POS software. You can use your own tablet or mobile phone to create a payment solution that works best for your business and customers. Customised pricing plans are offered by some companies, so be sure to do your research on fees upfront before committing.
