Mobile payments via digital wallets were already becoming more prevalent as consumers became increasingly comfortable with the technology and as more merchants offered terminals that accept mobile payments from devices at the point of sale. In a post-pandemic world, contactless payments are even more appreciated. Now, 67% of shoppers want self-checkout options from mobile devices.
Beyond avoiding germs, mobile payments provide businesses of all sizes, and their customers, a host of business and convenience benefits. Here are five reasons why your business should accept mobile payments if it isn’t already.
It Is Becoming The Most Convenient Option for Consumers
Smartphones are owned by more than 81% of Americans and are within easier reach than wallets for most consumers. Mobile payments are a natural extension of all the daily tasks that users demand of their smartphones, from checking the weather to updating their social media accounts.
Adding payments to a mobile device is the next natural extension and makes the payment process easier and more convenient than ever before. On-the-go contactless payments also allow transactions to be completed a lot quicker, creating a more user-friendly experience for consumers and helps businesses expedite transactions. Mobile payments also allow for lower wait times at checkout which, in turn, improves the customer experience. Consumers can also access more accounts without the need to carry a physical wallet with all the different cards and cash. All the necessary data is stored in a mobile device.
It’s More Secure
Contactless payments are expected to surpass credit card transactions. Thus, most mobile payment service providers recognize the importance of strengthening the security of contactless payments. Using mobile wallets is more secure and reliable than using a payment card.
Mobile payments reduce or eliminate the need for consumers to carry payment methods like cash and credit cards, meaning that these payment methods are less likely to be lost or stolen. Digital wallets also provide extra layers of biometric authentication such as fingerprint scans and/or facial recognition, assisting businesses in ensuring payments aren’t fraudulent.
Finally, mobile payments are often tokenized during transactions. This means that sensitive account holder information is replaced by tokens that fraudsters cannot use if intercepted during payment sessions, increasing security for both businesses and consumers. For example, Apple Pay uses tokenization, a method aimed to encrypt customer data. Users download a mobile payment app and add credit card information to it. Consequently, the real card number is replaced with a token, which is not the real card number. The token is protected with a password or Touch ID. As the token is a not a real card number, it becomes idle for attackers.
These steps increase the level of security and reduce the possibility of fraud. Lastly, in the event the phone is lost or stolen, the payment activity can easily be frozen.
It Makes Accounting & Bookkeeping Easier
When you run a business, you need an easy accounting system that will allow you to invoice customers, pay bills and share payments with accounting. Introducing mobile payment solutions can help a business achieve better cash flow management. With the help of mobile payments, small businesses can reduce costs such as bank charges and overheads and can better evaluate their cash flow position.
Quite often businesses forget to record their transactions, which can lead to missed valuable expenses or even potential penalties. To help avoid it, there are a number of cloud accounting packages that allow managing finances from mobile.
With the help of mobile payments, accounting can be significantly simplified by:
- Reduce the time spent on bookkeeping tasks because everything is already in the system
- Eliminate data entry
- Avoid a backlog of invoices and receipts
- Save time/resources associated with using spreadsheets
- Electronic receipts can be issued to help consumers keep better track of their spending, reduce paper waste, and decrease costs for businesses.
Allow Cash-Only Businesses to Accept Credit Payments
Adding mobile payment technology helps cash-only businesses – vendors at local markets, food trucks, etc. – to accept credit transactions. Accepting credit card payments via a mobile payment program can instantly increase a small business’ customer base and increase sales for all the aforementioned reasons.
Expand and Customize Loyalty Programs
Mobile payment technology is on the forefront of driving highly personalized customer experiences due to the technological intersection of on-the-go convenience and smartphone/app technology. Subsequently, mobile payments provide businesses with the opportunity to expand and customize loyalty programs unlike any other payment option currently available.
For example, location-based services embedded into mobile payment apps provide the option to offer consumers with product offerings, discounts, coupons, etc., directly into their hands at just the right time. The ability to drive a highly personalized, customized and relevant customer experience is unsurpassed with mobile payment technology.
Lastly, loyalty programs often tend to be generic and rarely provide deals for products and/or services that a customer is interested in. Mobile payment technology provides the opportunity to garner highly accurate consumer purchasing data about prior purchases and behaviors, allowing a business to customize offerings that better align with a customer’s needs and interests.
In summary, the future of payments is going to be all about mobile. Implementing mobile payment will become an essential part of your business. Security remains the top priority. If consumers are sure that they can securely make transactions using mobile phones, they will be eager to use it. If the mobile payment provider underperforms, consumers will continue using cash and cards.
Mobile payments create a better customer experience and help forge a stronger, more loyal customer relationship. One of the biggest advantages of mobile payments is a financial convenience, which allows managing money anywhere and at any time. As they become more secure and customer-oriented, mobile payments will play an increasingly larger role in payment processing.
