Mobile Credit Card Processing in Your Pocket

March 21, 2012

Accepting credit cards payments is notoriously complicated and expensive. You needed to set up a merchant account with a bank, you had to buy or lease a card reader, and you had to pay a setup fee, subscription fees, fees on every sale you made, and lots of hidden fees. It’s no longer the case when it comes to accepting a credit card payment directly on your mobile devices; you have more options these days. A swarm of Credit card processing apps for smartphones and tablets has rendered the process easier and cheaper. 

The options are Square , Intuit GoPayment, PayAnywhere, and PayPal Here. While Square, GoPayment, and PayAnywhere have been recognized and established for some times, the PayPal Here is just emerged last week. PayPal Here comes from a well-enough known name that it could be a serious competitor for the two current mobile credit card readers.

These newer services can provide any small business a simple, economical way to accept payments via credit card. They will send you a small credit card reader or scanner when you sign up for a new account. You simply plug the card reader, which can fit in your pocket or bag, into your smartphone or tablet and launch the accompanying free app, and you’re ready to accept credit card payments for your goods or services. 

Each service offers free apps for iOS (iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad) as well as for Android. Intuit’s GoPayment also supports some BlackBerry phones. Since the scanner plug into the headphone port, they are compatible with almost any phone that can run the app. 

All of the apps require an Internet connection to work. You have no option to take information and run it at a later time. Make sure that you always have a stable and secure Internet connection, especially if you take payments in the field or at events.

These mobile payment processing services offer pay-as-you-go plans, in which you pay only a fixed percentage fee per transaction with no separate transaction fee or monthly fee.

All apps transfer money automatically into your registered bank account.