3 reasons why your start-up should accept mobile payments

03 December 2017 by National Bank

With the rapid adoption of smartphones over the last decade, improvement in telecom connectivity and higher data transmission rates, mobile phones have become the primary devices around which our daily lives revolve, and they are shaping how consumers search, purchase and pay for goods and services.

In Canada, a recent Google study carried out in 2017 revealed that one out of three Canadians use smartphones for payment. In order to remain competitive in this digital age, your start-up should start embracing mobile payments.

What are mobile payments?

There are 2 main categories of mobile payments that work in different ways:

E-Commerce: a customer must connect to the internet on his/her mobile phone to make a payment by entering his/her bank card information on a secure website. The website needs to be functional for mobile devices in terms of user experience and card payments acceptance.
Mobile Wallets: stores a customer’s bank card information securely on his/her mobile phone which can be used subsequently for IN-APP single-click payments scanning a QR code or a contactless technology app (ApplePay, SamsungPay, AndroidPay).

Mobile payments offer your customers convenience and greater flexibility in terms of payment options. Modernizing your business is necessary in this rapidly changing digital age and accepting mobile payments should be a key part of your strategy. Here’s why;

Mobile payments are convenient and facilitate quicker transactions

One of mobile payments’ key advantages is making the in store payment transaction process easier and faster for you and your customers – this is due to the NFC technology which allows the terminal and mobile phone to communicate wirelessly when they are close together. Mobile payments also make it easy for your customers to manage their different bank cards by simply storing them in their digital wallets. No more fumbling with their real wallets; payments can be made with technology that is at their fingertips. The speed and convenience advantages also apply to customer purchases made on an e-commerce website via their mobile phone.

Mobile payments require minimal investment

Accepting mobile payments, in-store, usually requires minimal investment. You just have to make sure your terminal is NFC-enabled, is compatible with selected cards and that your payments solutions provider can accept the technology. Some software updates may also be required, but the whole process is quite simple. Accepting a mobile wallet payment is the same as accepting a regular card payment; you won’t have to incur additional fees or charges. Existing solutions and transaction fees apply nevertheless. If you’re looking into offering your customers the ability to pay with their mobile phone on your e-commerce website, you’ll have to plan ahead for development costs. Nevertheless, giving your customers the ability to choose their preferred method of payment (including mobile payments) will allow you to never miss out on a sale.

Mobile payments offer a competitive edge

As mobile payments continue to grow in popularity, small businesses that accept mobile payments will be in a better position to compete with their larger counterparts while streamlining their checkout process. The digital landscape is changing fast and mobile payments offer small businesses the ability to adapt and keep pace with the market and their competitors.

Whatever your type of business, you can find an advantage to this payments solution whether it is for accepting payments or for integrating mobile payments in your growth strategy.

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