Before mobile payments, many small businesses either missed sales by not being able to accept credit cards anytime from anywhere, or they delayed their cash flow by waiting until they got back to the office to put together an invoice for the service or good they just provided. With the apps available today that enable most smart phones to process credit card transactions, small business can easily accept mobile payment in person and never again need to miss a sale or delay their cash flow.
Benefits of Accepting Mobile Payments
There are many benefits for a business to begin accepting mobile payments. A few that stand out include:
- Get Paid Faster. With mobile payment acceptance, businesses can collect payment immediately at the point of service or good provided. There are so many small businesses that I personally interact with who don’t collect payment from me in person, that could. My chimney sweeper, mobile vet, accountant, driveway sealer and lawn caretaker all provide me with services in person, but then wait to send me a bill later in the mail – which I invariably forget about and pay late. This entire payment delay can be eliminated by a simple mobile payments app to accept my payment in person at the point of service.
- Never Miss a Sale. There are still many small businesses I come across – street vendors, artists, taxi drivers, who I would like to purchase from but don’t accept credit cards. Since I rarely carry cash, I don’t buy from them and will give my business to someone else. For many of these mobile businesses, hardware and paperwork have been an inhibitor to accepting credit cards on the go. But, with mobile payments this is no longer an issue. You always have your mobile phone with you, which means you are always ready to accept a credit card payment.
- Delight Your Customers. No one likes getting bills in the mail, and while paying for things post-purchase is what we expect from credit cards, it is not a fun experience when it comes to individual payments. As a customer, we all appreciate convenience and by saving the customer the time of having to receive the bill, write a check, pop it in the mail – you are doing them a huge favor and providing them with a delightful payments experience.
- Spend Less Time on Billing. When a business collects payments in person wherever they are, this eliminates the need to spend those hours back in the office going through sales slips, preparing invoices, getting them all sent off, and then tracking who had paid and who hasn’t.
Best Practices for Accepting Mobile Payments with a Mobile App to create a Great Experience for You and Your Customer
It’s critical when using any payment method that might be a first time for a customer, to provide the highest level of comfort and sense of security. Following are some tips you can use to make mobile payment a great experience:
- Secure Solution from a Trusted Provider. Be sure you are using a secure solution from a trusted payments provider. It’s critical that you do your homework when selecting a mobile payments provider to ensure your customer’s data will be kept secure and all regulations will be followed.
- Seamless Repeat Transactions from Encrypted Card Numbers. Provide your customer with the comfort that your mobile payments app tracks all of their data in a secure encrypted manner. Being able to ask ‘Would you like me to put that on your Amex ending in ####?’ provides you customer with the highest level of convenience and also lets them know that their credit cards numbers aren’t lying around somewhere fully exposed.
- Transaction History At Your Fingertips. Have all of your customer’s transaction history at your fingertips, so you can remember the last time you’ve provided service and also answer any questions on the spot about previous payments or the customer’s history with you.
- Receipts and Payments Communication. Ensure that even though the payment is happening in person, that proper receipts and thank you’s are automatically sent to the customer electronically.
- Guided Tour. If it is the customer’s first time conducting a mobile payment, simply showing your customer the screens on your phone as you process the payment can not only make the payments experience a delightful one, but can greatly increase the level of comfort.
The Value of Mobile Apps – Making Payments a Better Process for You and Your Customer
So if your business ever interacts directly with clients where you aren’t currently collecting payment, it’s time to check out the app store for a mobile payments application so you can stop missing sales, improve your cash flow and spend less time on billing activities. Your payment acceptance can now follow you wherever your business takes you. Not only will your business benefit, but your customers will also be happy that you are providing them with such a high level of convenience – helping them save time paying bills as well.
Are you interested in seeing how much benefit a mobile payments app could add to your business? ?Check out the a demo of PaySimple, designed and priced with the small business in mind. Now available for download at the iTunes app store and on the Android Market.
