SHOULD YOU ACCEPT CREDIT CARDS USING YOUR MOBILE PHONE?
Five reasons why it can increase sales and efficiency
Mobile payments are becoming increasingly popular because it is quick, convenient and safe. Charge.com uses the NFC reader on a mobile phone to read a credit card, just like an electronic keypad would. The customer can then enter their PIN on the mobile phone to facilitate payment. Here are 5 reasons why this can improve your sales:
- Vendors won’t need a separate device
Using mobile phones will make life much easier for service vendors such as plumbers, electricians, landscapers, and cleaners. These vendors already carry a lot of bulky equipment as they do their work, and an electronic keypad is just one more piece of gear to worry about. Receiving card payments on their phones is faster, easier, and less cumbersome. Mobile phones are a very intimate item, so using a mobile phone to accept payment adds a personal touch to transactions and can improve customer rapport. And it certainly can’t hurt for your customer to see a picture of your family you saved as your mobile phone’s wallpaper right at the moment that they are thinking about how big a tip to give you.
- Customers will feel more secure
There have been incidences of card skimmers being used to steal credit card information at ATMs and store cashiers. In these schemes, unscrupulous people place an artificial skimmer on top of electronic keypads so that when customers enter their information, the skimmer collects it. This information is later used to create duplicate cards that are used in transactions, draining the customer’s account in the process. Using mobile phones eliminates this security risk and puts customers’ minds at ease.
- Mobile transactions are faster than electronic keypads
Credit cards and debit cards have a secure magnetic strip that allows them to safely read information. Unfortunately, the magnetic strip can be compromised by everyday items like keys, speakers, and microwaves. That’s why sometimes a card has to be swiped through the electronic keypad multiple times. This can lead to embarrassment at best, and double charges at worst. Fortunately, the card reader on a mobile phone is not affected in the same way that a keypad might be. Mobile phone processing also makes the whole exchange paperless, sending receipts by email and saving trees in the process.
- Mobile phones are convenient
The mobile phone is part of the vendor’s social life, not just your business, so it’s unlikely you’ll forget to charge it or be caught without it. This makes collecting payments very convenient – the device for doing so is always with you!
- Mobile phones accept all cards
Electronic keypads are generally programmed to accept a specific set of cards. They will typically be set to accept Visa, Mastercard, and maybe a vendor loyalty card. On the other hand, mobile phone apps are coded to accept all cards. If there is a new card on the market, the app developers can easily issue an instant upgrade to cover the new card. Mobile upgrades are much faster and more efficient than trying to get electronic keypads reprogrammed, making them more universal.
To sign up for Charge.com and start accepting card payments on your phone, call 1-888-924-2743 toll free or visit www.charge.com.
