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For every business operating online, technology is becoming increasingly relevant – from online fax services to management automation software. No matter the industry size, merchants worldwide know that mobile payments are here to stay. Even everyday people share the common expectation of using their mobile devices in a lot more innovative ways than before, including seamless mobile payments. With the rise of applications such as Google Wallet, Apple Pay, or PayPal, accepting mobile payments has never been easier, especially for small businesses.
Mobile payments make life more convenient. In today’s fast-paced world, everybody wants to do their business as quickly as possible – that’s where fast checkouts come into play. When it comes to the benefits, they’re swift, accessible, and, if used right, capable of reducing small businesses’ expenses. Plus, digital payments make bookkeeping a lot less stressful for entrepreneurs, as it’s easier to keep track of sales information and consumer trends.
Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t any disadvantages to adopting mobile payments. Some of the most common downsides raised by potential users are security concerns or issues with slow user adoption. Small business owners should always weigh both the advantages and potential drawbacks of mobile payments before moving forward. Here’s what is worth considering before deciding if going digital is the right fit for your business.
Benefits of Mobile Payments for Small Businesses
1. Convenience and Versatility
Customers are always looking for fast and straightforward payment options. For small businesses, it’s vital to make things as easy as possible for their customers.
Mobile payments are a perfect alternative for those who tend to forget their wallet at home or occasionally run into problems with their credit card at checkout. If the customers are provided with another payment option, they don’t have to leave the store empty-handed, and the sale, which otherwise would’ve been lost, is secured.
Mobile payments are not limited to eCommerce apps only. Unlike other payment forms, they also provide support with in-person transactions. With this in mind, small businesses can easily reach out to potential customers and sell products and services with ease. Mobile payments allow small businesses to be as creative as they want and make the most out of their relationships with current and potential customers.
2. Customer Loyalty
Small businesses can build a stronger relationship with their clients and increase customer loyalty by offering them unique benefits and discounts if they use mobile payments. Mobile wallets, like Venmo, often offer special coupons or allow users to take advantage of QR codes that provide discounts with certain merchants. Also, gathering information about preferred products and services makes it easier for customers to buy them again and again.
This way, mobile payments help with making every transaction and every customer count. They make meeting your customers’ expectations easy, simple, and convenient and encourage greater engagement with your services and products, more significant sales, and ultimately more revenue for your business.
3. More for Less
Another benefit of mobile payments is the lowered cost of hardware, which small businesses can keep to a minimum when compared to other payment methods. Thanks to their size, tablets and phones are more affordable than most computers, but they still can serve the same purposes.
Plenty of payment platforms can be used on phones and tablets to help you grow your business and serve your customers in the most efficient way. For example, some offer a full payment processing solution, providing companies with multiple contactless payment options like manual card entry, innovative Text to Pay, or already well-known mobile card payments.
Disadvantages of Mobile Payments for Small Businesses
1. Mobile Payment Security
Security is a big topic when it comes to mobile payments. Between hackers and frauds, data breaches have been on the rise over the past few years. If you think about all the data collected and processed by your business, you can see how important it is to keep things secure.
A lot depends on the payment application you choose, such as Apple Pay or Google Wallet. Both provide a secure environment for online payments and use tokens instead of your actual credit card details. Small businesses should think about implementing a proper security system that can protect sensitive data from being stolen or tampered with.
To avoid these risks, it’s good to make sure that the technology and infrastructure used by your business are up-to-date. A strong and reliable internet connection also helps to keep everything running smoothly.
2. Slow User Adoption
Mobile payments are becoming more popular among consumers every year, but many people still don’t consider them a preferred way to pay. If a business wants to use mobile payments, they have to be prepared for a long process of educating and familiarizing their customers with the upgrades. It might take a while until everyone gets used to paying with their phones.
In the meantime, having the option to pay via mobile might be a good way for small businesses to expand their target audience, attracting new customers that prefer this type of payments. Nevertheless, it’s always a good idea to introduce the changes slowly, rather than turning everything around overnight.
3. Need for Constant Updates
Whatever mobile payment platform you choose for your business, there’s always going to be the need to keep up with software updates. For example, many users are currently switching to phones that support NFC (near-field-communication), a short-range wireless technology that makes your smartphone, tablet, wearables, payment cards, and other devices even smarter.
What is more, on top of the need to have technology that is at least semi-recent, a strong internet connection is also a necessary requirement. Depending on the case, this may prove to be a significant cost.
In Conclusion
While there’s no denying that mobile payments will soon become an essential part of our everyday lives, there are still some things for small businesses to consider before making a choice.
The question is – what best fits your business?
Well, it depends on your business goals and objectives. If you want to stay ahead of the competition, mobile payments should be one of your priorities. Fortunately, there are plenty of mobile payment solutions that you can choose from. With so many mobile payment options available, it’s possible to find the right fit for your business.
