Accepting Mobile Payments: Bring Your Business with You!
If your business moves, then your payment system needs to move with it. A cash-only policy is a turnoff in the digital world, and accepting checks, at this point, is downright archaic. If you own a store, a credit card machine will do, but if your work requires you going into the field, you need to let your customers or clients use plastic — wherever you may be. Check out this list of the top mobile payment systems before you get started.
PayAnywhere
At 2.69 percent per swipe, PayAnywhere doesn’t charge the lowest rate of any provider in the industry, but it offers unique versatility for a market filled with systems that have been forced to choose a side.
PayAnywhere works with not only Android and Apple devices, but Blackberry as well. Funds usually arrive within two business days of sales being processed.
Intuit GoPayment Card Reader
Intuit’s system comes with a free credit card reader and app. The reader plugs into the audio jack of your Android phone or tablet. Swipe a card, get authorization, and collect a signature in seconds.
GoPayment requires no contract or commitment and offers a pay-as-you-go plan as well as a discounted monthly plan. Another key selling point for Intuit’s reader is that it can link directly into QuickBooks and other back-office software.
Square
Perhaps the best-known name in the industry, Square works with iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.
The fixed rate per swipe is 2.75 percent and it works with Visa, American Express, MasterCard, and Discover. No contracts or monthly fees. No merchant account needed.
Funds are deposited into your bank account the next business day. You can also create a Point of Sale (POS) system to run Square on your business’s counter.
Phone Swipe
Phone Swipe is also designed exclusively for Apple’s line of mobile devices. Upon merchant account approval, you’ll get a free credit card reader to accept Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express.
Phone Swipe is backed by North American Bancard, an industry leader in credit card processing with 20 years of experience. It offers fraud protection, real-time reporting, and receipts in the form of paper or email.
LevelUp
LevelUp is unique in the industry because it doesn’t require a swiping device at all. The mobile app reads the user’s QR code (a black-and-white patterned square that works like a barcode), which is linked to their credit card, and it can swipe phone to phone.
If you, the merchant, choose, you can integrate it into your existing POS system and use a tableside terminal or a standalone terminal. LevelUp charges an industry-low 2 percent fee — unless you advertise with LevelUp; then there isn’t a fee at all.
No matter what your business, if you’re in the business of making money, you have to give your customers flexibility. There is no better way to do that than to invest in the simple and relatively affordable readers that are becoming the industry standard. Don’t go forward without accepting mobile payments. If there’s one thing you want to make easy for your customers, it’s paying you.
About the Author: Andrew Lisa is a freelance business writer living in Los Angeles. He writes on a variety of issues, including how to remove news articles from Google.
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