Is Your Business Ready to Accept Mobile Payments? Learn How!

A mobile payment is a payment made with a smartphone, tablet or smartwatch instead of cash or a physical card. To accept mobile payments, sign up with a payment service provider that supports mobile methods like Apple Pay and Google Pay, add them to your checkout, and, if you sell in person, get a contactless (NFC) card reader.

Today it's almost impossible to run a business without accepting mobile payments. It's not just convenient for customers: it helps you too. When customers can pay from their phone, the sale is more likely to happen immediately, so you get your money sooner.

It's important to choose the right payment system and set it up properly so every payment goes through smoothly. In this article, I'll share what I've learned so you can start accepting mobile payments quickly.

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What are mobile payments?

A mobile payment is a payment made with a mobile device, such as a smartphone, tablet or smartwatch. Customers complete the transaction with just their device, without taking out a wallet or card.

Mobile payments can be used for many kinds of transactions:

• Point-of-sale purchases
• Online purchases
• Subscription payments
• Bill payments
• Money transfers
• Employee paychecks

How to accept mobile payments

Once you decide to accept mobile payments, the process is simple. The steps depend on the type of business you run.

If your business is online

1. Sign up with a payment service provider if you don't have one, and make sure it supports mobile payment methods.
2. Set up the payment infrastructure on your website. Pay.com offers a no-code setup that takes only a few minutes.
3. Connect your business bank account so you can receive the funds.

Read more about how to accept payments on your website.

If you have a physical store or offer in-person services

The process is much the same, but you'll also need a card reader. Choose one that accepts both credit cards and contactless payments.

Tell your customers

Once your system is running, let customers know about the new payment options. Announce it on your website, on social media or in an email to your mailing list.

To go further, offer incentives such as special discounts for paying with mobile methods.

Why should you accept mobile payments?

Accepting mobile payments brings many benefits:

• Faster payment: mobile payments are processed right away and the funds go directly to you.
• Time saved: no manual invoicing, printed bills and receipts, or chasing customers for payment.
• Customer data: a mobile payment system captures useful data for targeted marketing. Just respect your customers' privacy and the privacy laws in your region.
• Happier customers: customers like a smooth checkout that lets them pay their preferred way.
• Better security: advances in mobile payment technology make these transactions more secure and better protected against fraud.
• Easier bookkeeping: connect your payment system to your accounting software and avoid manual data entry and human error.
• More revenue: the more payment options you offer, the more customers complete their purchases.

4 types of mobile payment solutions

The four main types are browser-based, app-based, mobile card reader and contactless payments.

Browser-based mobile payments

With browser-based payments, the customer enters their payment details into a form on a website in their mobile browser.

Some websites have their own built-in payment system; others send the customer to a different site to finish the payment. Either way, the whole purchase happens in the browser.

You'll find this on many ecommerce sites. Customers go to a checkout page and enter their details, and the merchant's payment provider takes care of the rest.

App-based mobile payments

Some businesses have their own apps that customers can pay through. It works like browser-based payments, but the customer enters their details in the app instead of a website.

App payments are most common among large businesses, especially food chains like Starbucks and McDonald's. But any business can create an app, and plenty of smaller ones offer this option.

Mobile card reader payments

Online shopping is convenient, but physical stores and in-person service providers should accept mobile payments too.

With a mobile card reader built for mobile payments, customers can pay with the digital wallet or payment app on their phone. More and more businesses are investing in these readers.

Contactless payments

Contactless payments have become much more common since the COVID-19 pandemic.

To accept them, you need an NFC reader. It's a simple device: the customer holds their phone close to it and the payment goes through.

Types of mobile payment technology

NFC

NFC (near-field communication) sends payment data from a customer's NFC-enabled phone or card to an NFC reader when the two are very close together. The data is tokenized and encrypted to keep it secure in transit.

QR codes

QR codes are everywhere, and they work for payments too. The customer scans the code with their phone and is taken to a web page or app where they enter their payment details.

Mobile payment apps

There are many mobile payment apps, and you choose which ones to accept. Do some market research to make sure you accept the payment methods your customers prefer.

Each app has its own fee structure. With Pay.com as your payment infrastructure, you'll know exactly what you pay in fees, with no nasty surprises at the end of the month.

If most of your customers use iOS or Android, take that into account too. Here are some of the most popular mobile payment apps:

Are there downsides to accepting mobile payments?

There are two to keep in mind, costs and perceived security risk, but neither is a big deal with the right payment service provider.

• Costs: you'll pay fees, usually a flat rate or a percentage of each transaction.
• Perceived risk: mobile payments are generally very secure, but some customers may still feel nervous using them. It's always good to offer alternative payment options too.

Accepting mobile payments with Pay.com

With Pay.com, you can add any payment methods you want, including Apple Pay, Google Pay and many others. You can also create QR codes for customers to scan, or send direct payment links they can use on their phones.

Learn more about Pay.com and find out how to get started.