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;
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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.