Payments
As with all other elements of the mobile ecosystem, mobile payments is also becoming a cluttered market. In addition to Paypal, popular options that are already well-established include:
Another innovation particularly suited to smaller businesses include Square. A great solution for businesses that want to take card payment but don’t have their own hardware
In the UK, only 6m SMEs have a credit card terminal. For those without, “Square” allows card payments on your mobile device using a special device that fits into the headphone socket of a smartphone.
The Reader converts data from magnetic strip into an audio signal and passes it to software on the phone.
There are a number of advantages of using Square:
- Speed: when applying for a merchant account, it can take up to 4 weeks but with Square it’s instant
- Next day deposit into your bank account
- Satisfies industry standard security practices
- Requires a 3G internet connection or WiFi.
- Square charges flat rate fee for all cards: 2.75%
In the US Paypal have just launched their own version of the technology with the added advantage of allowing people to pay with their credit card.
