You’ll need a quality program that can help you review how your mobile credit card processing operations are running at your business site. You can use an Android or iOS-based platform on your processing materials to help you keep track of everything from sales totals to inventory reports. The platform can also produce a user interface that makes it easy for people to process their transactions.
How Does the Platform Work?
Mobile credit card processing kiosks and devices can work with an Android or iOS-based operating setup. The software will run off one of these mobile operating systems.
Android and iOS are useful for how they are user-intuitive and easy to review. You can display many things through either operating system. Both formats also support an extensive array of apps, including ones that a mobile credit card processing company can develop for your convenience.
These operating systems can help you with everything from entering in data to collecting payments from people. These have been working in many fields for years, and the odds are they will work for your business needs.
These OS choices can also work on various screens. These include smartphone and tablet-sized displays. The apps you download can also function on different screens, although the quality of whatever works will vary surrounding your device.
Apps For All Use
The Google Play store for Android and the App Store for iOS has been producing many high-quality apps for various business needs for years. You can use many apps for your card processing needs and business operations, including:
A basic payment collection app, including support for adjusting tips
An app for collecting phone numbers, email addresses, and other things from customers
A sales tracker that reports on what sales you’re completing
Inventory reports highlighting anything you have in your location
A virtual menu or other display for customers to review when buying things
The processing program you utilize can work with various apps of value. You can download many apps for free and customize them based on what you need to utilize the most. The system gives you full control over your experience in running your business.
What Can the Software Track?
You can use an Android or iOS platform to help you track many things in your mobile credit card processing efforts. These include things like these:
How well you are selling things, including what you are selling the most and when you’re selling items more often
How your employees are performing, including who is producing the most sales
The types of payments you’re collecting; these include payments through different card networks
Whether you are running out of certain things in your inventory
You can correct your business’ operations surrounding whatever the software is reporting. The control system will help you handle your work needs.
Android and iOS-powered systems are necessary for mobile credit card processing systems. Be sure you have a setup that works with one of these popular operating systems to help you manage more functions.
In a surprising move, Square card reader updated their terms of service agreement that every user must agree to before processing to include the ban of all sales of firearms, firearm hardware, and ammunition. Previously, the agreement had only excluded sales of guns and other weapons from online, mail order, and telephone sales outlets.
The move comes at a time when many brick and mortar gun stores and gun show vendors are doing more business than ever. This increase in volume is mainly due to recent legislation on the state and federal level to limit consumers’ access to certain types of weapons and ammunition. This fear of the unknown for the future has fueled a run on shops that are struggling to keep inventory on their shelves.
Some other notable businesses that ban weapon sales are eBay, a popular online –auction site, and PayPal. This leaves many reputable merchants with a question mark of who they can process their legitimate transactions with in a time when their business is experiencing exponential growth. The finance arm of General Electric will also no longer provide funding to gun retailers.
Accept mobile payments
For those vendors that do business through gun shows and need a mobile processor for their smartphone or tablet, we offer a great alternative to Square. HMS has a number of mobile payment processing solutions that work with both iPhone and iPad as well as Android smartphones and tablets. For those merchants that have brick and mortar locations we can provide our lowest interchange plus pricing along with our wide variety of terminals and integrations into existing POS systems.
Gun show vendors usually require a mobile payment processing solution
At the end of the day this change to Square’s policy leaves many gun sellers without a means to accept credit cards in a time when business is booming. HMS is a great solution not only because we have many clients that are gun vendors but also because we can provide an affordable rate to maximize the profit from that next sale. I’ll finish with one last intriguing question: what is the best way to recycle all those obsolete little squares…?
This week, the Official Merchant Services Blog will delve into a three-part comparison of the services offered by Host Merchant Services and Square. We will begin by giving a basic overview of both and then compare how the two companies set up a merchant account. We will then move on to a comprehensive look at the pricing and security aspects, over the next few days.
Mobile Payment Processor Square has been pushing its brand heavily this past year. The startup lets merchants process credit and debit card transactions through their mobile devices, including iPhones, Android smart phones, and even the iPad. The company picked up a lot of attention in August 2012, when it announced a partnership with Starbucks to provide mobile payment ability to 7,000 locations nationwide.
Host Merchant Services has been reporting on the Mobile Payments market for the entire time Square has been making its splash in the industry. HMS has also been marketing its own mobile payment processing solutions — giving its customers the option of accepting credit and debit card payments through iPhone, iPad and Android as well.
So how does the suite of Host Merchant Services Mobile Payment solutions stack up against Square? Today we find out in Part 1 or our three part series, Host Merchant Services vs. Square: The Merchant Account.
The Merchant Account
The first major difference between the two mobile payment processing providers is the most basic: The Merchant Account.
Square does not actually provide a merchant account to its customers. Square provides its customers with processing services, but not a traditional merchant account. Instead, Square acts more like a payment aggregator.
Typically, Merchant Aggregators or Payment Aggregators are service providers through which e-commerce merchants can process their payment transactions. Aggregators allow merchants to accept credit card and bank transfers without having to setup a merchant account with a bank or card association. The Aggregator provides the means for facilitating payment from the consumer via credit cards, stored value accounts or bank transfer to the merchant. The merchant is then paid by the Aggregator.
This is a pretty basic description for how PayPal began — and is also a really solid description for how Square works with its customer base.
Aggregation enables businesses that may be too small or risky to obtain a traditional merchant account to accept credit and debit card transactions anyway. The practice gets controversial among the more traditional sectors of the payment processing industry because it makes it harder for networks to monitor just who generates transactions and, most importantly, the attendant risk.
Some of the drawbacks of Square’s aggregation, such as caps on transaction size and delayed fund dispersal, will be reviewed in Part 2 of our series. Host Merchant Services’ traditional merchant accounts do not place caps on transactions or delay funds for any merchant.
Host Merchant Services offers a traditional merchant account to its customers. This is a noteworthy difference in practice for the merchant. The account is in the merchant’s name, giving the merchant more rights as well as more responsibilities. The traditional merchant account also holds Host Merchant Services to the merchant with added oversight on the transaction process. This is bolstered by Host Merchant Services’ customer service goals, creating a relationship where Host Merchant Services goes all-out for each merchant. The approval process through Host Merchant Services is more extensive up front, however the security and service provided gives merchants more peace of mind and more value for their effort.
In conclusion, Square and Host Merchant Services offer two very different types of merchant accounts. Although both companies allow merchants to accept credit cards, Square does not offer a true merchant account. Host Merchant Services creates a traditional merchant account, and the customer has actual control over aspects of the account. HMS directly links the merchant and their account, without any type of aggregation. This practice allows easier tracking of authorizations and transactions, a streamlined chargeback process, and less risk over all.
I’m back to once again speak about Mobile Payments and their presence in Delaware. In case you missed my last blog, it’s here. It’s really finally here. Barclaycard Mobile Wallet is an active program that participating merchants at the waterfront in Wilmington, DE, and along Main Street in Newark, are using. Right now you can use your phone to buy stuff!
So that’s exactly what I did. I set out to visit some shops and buy some stuff. To give this test run some authenticity, I decided to try and buy things I actually needed. Let’s see how the process works and how useful it is for real-time shopping!
But first, I needed to update my settings. After downloading the application, and adding a credit card to my account, I had noticed I wasn’t seeing any offers. Kara from Barclaycard saw my blog and reached out to help me.
So I needed to add another step in our process for getting the technology up and running. It may seem like a bit much at first, but trust me, it’s fast and easy to initialize.
Kara noted that I needed to add locations to my account to get the offers to show up. ZIP codes are the easiest way to do that. Wilmington’s ZIP is 19801, and Newark’s is 19711.
The Revised Set of Steps
So now, our updated steps to bring the power of mobile purchases right to your hot hands look like this:
Step 1: Visit this site and register for an account. This is key. You can’t just download the app and go. You need to register online first. Since you’re here online reading this blog, you can take a moment to click that link and get that out of the way.
Step 2: You go through the process of setting up an account. Choose a username, password, give your information.
Step 3: You add the card you want the wallet to charge.
Step 4: You can then download the app from the app store or google play store.
Step 5: Activate the app on your phone, and go through the log in process. You’ll be asked for your passcode, and to log in with your username and password, and even one of the additional security questions.
Step 6: Go to settings — the gear icon — and go to offer locations. Add locations. Use the ZIP code that works best for you (I used both). Then you go to …
Step 7: BOOM! Start buying stuff!
The Buying Stuff Part
Thanks to Kara’s timely advice, I had offers streaming through my phone immediately. Armed with mobile purchasing power and enthusiastic curiosity, I leapt from my centralized blogging and news update headquarters — taking this story live and direct to the macadam of Main Street Newark.
My first target was National 5 and 10, located on 66 E. Main Street. Boasting the world’s largest selection and lowest prices for University of Delaware merchandise, I decided to zero in on … art supplies. I needed a sketch book and a new pencil and eraser set to continue to design and draw projects like this more than I needed a new Blue Hens ball cap.
So I went to work racking up an impressive spree of supplies:
Mechanical Pencil with lead refills, 0.5 mm fine point lead size. For the nitty gritty line work.
Hi-Polymer Pentel white plastic art eraser. Because they take the pencil marks away but leave the ink behind.
5.5 x 8.5″ sketchbook, to help me rough out all my creative ideas.
And to get my purchase up over $10, four 5 x 9″ bubble mailer envelopes, so I can send slick prints of my best portfolio pieces to people interested.
Total: $11.24
I took this stash of artistic loot to the one counter that was open. When it was my turn I happily stepped up and asked if I could purchase these with the Barclaycard app, and flashed my phone at the cashier. This caused quite a stir, as it seems I was the very first customer to utilize this technology. Excitement buzzed in the air. We moved this transaction over to the other side of the area where the Barclaycard Mobile Wallet Terminal was kept. Another cashier took over the transaction, but a crowd began to form. The owner came over to see this landmark purchase of a pencil, eraser, sketchbook and some envelopes take place. Customers took notice. And then it happened.
The cashier rang up the items. I had my phone out and the app open. I was prompted to scan the QR Code on the terminal. The app took over and in a flash my payment was recorded. I approved it with the click of a button. The cashier printed out my receipt and just like that it was over. Payment made. Stuff bought. Once the wow factor wears off, the process will turn out to be very easy. As fast as swiping a credit card, with none of the hassle of keeping a card on you in your wallet. Mobile wallet finally lives up to the hype. I take my phone everywhere, as do most people. I need it for emergencies — but also to keep up with work and friends while on the go. So tucking this payment power into it just consolidates everything, making shopping a seamless part of the package.
But Wait, There’s More
I made the effort to obtain a purchase of $10 or more to take advantage of the offer I saw on my screen. But it didn’t seem to take. Later in the day I found out the offer might not be live yet. So I moved on to my next stop: Switch Skateboarding, located on 54 E. Main Street. No worries here about finding an item over $10 in price, but there were no visible offers for Switch anyways, so I put that out of my mind and focused on finding something I actually needed — wrist guards.
I haven’t been on a skateboard since I was 15 years old. But I’ve needed items that Switch sells almost regularly for the past four years because I’m a roller derby referee. I picked up a pair of Destroyer wrist guards. I chose them primarily because I already have a pair of 187 wrist guards and an old pair of pro-tec, so wanted to see if these fit any more comfortably. They cost $17.
Once again I stepped up to the counter and announced my intention to purchase this item with the Barclaycard app. There was decidedly less of a fuss about it as the staff at Switch seemed to be both more chilled out in general and ready to handle the unusual request. However, just like at National 5 and 10, there was a swapping of cashiers in terms of who handled the transaction. Switch uses a different setup than 5 and 10. The skateboard shop is working a completely virtual system, running transactions through a computer. The payment seemed even more seamless than at 5 and 10. All that was involved was opening up their gateway in their browser, inputting the details of the transaction, scanning the item’s barcode and then it was up to me. Switch has a static, standing QR Code on a card atop its counter. I had my app open and ready. When prompted I clicked the button and my phone scanned the barcode. Once again it was lightning fast. And after clicking my approval of the sale, the transaction ended.
Success. I was now armed with a fully operational mobile payment telephone, a pair of brand new wrist guards and some art supplies that I needed. This took the idea of buying things with a wave of my phone from concept to cold, hard reality. I found myself wanting to do this everywhere.
The Only Downside
As far as I was concerned I came away from this excursion with only one negative — there just wasn’t enough visible presence to let consumers know this existed. At 5 and 10, I created a crowd, but I knew going into the store I could buy things this way. The terminal itself stands out as it is different from other terminals. But I wonder if it’s all that visible since it’s not exactly a place where consumers actually look. I’m reminded of the time I spend standing in line at places like Wawa or 7-11, where I’d really like to just swipe my phone and go. I don’t even look at the terminal until I have to. How do you let people know they can do this now? Do you start to ask them, “Credit, Debit or Mobile?”
Or do you just get the word out there with more and more buzz, like this blog or a demonstration in the store at key high traffic times? Do I just keep telling my friends, “Hey, check out what I can do?”
It’s probably a mixture of all of those ideas. The technology is now here. It works. And it’s very easy to use. The ball is rolling. It just needs to pick up speed and add more snowy mass as it rolls along.
Barclaycard Mobile Wallet is an active program that participating merchants at the waterfront in Wilmington, DE, and along Main Street in Newark, are using. Right now you can use your phone to buy stuff!
For Me, This is Big
Normally I try to maintain some composure and tact when scribing The Official Merchant Services Blog but I’m a little too excited to keep calm. Mobile Payment Processing– as I noted in my last blog entry about how long it was taking Near Field Communication to get here — is a topic I’ve been fascinated with my entire time working in this industry. And I’ve reported how each new take on the technology has been inching forward, how the pieces are in place for X, Y or Z to finally break through and for U.S. consumers to be able to start waving their phones around like lightsabers, cha-chinging their way through purchases.
Got the Ball Rollin’
For the most part it’s been tiny test markets using the things that are active — test markets nowhere near me or my shopping stomping grounds. And then there’s been other technology riddled with delays. And then there’s been discussions about security issues. It just seemed like this crazy new purchasing power was not going to come to a store near me anytime soon. The Magic 8-Ball Blog I wrote back on October 18, 2011 seemed to have encapsulated the entire issue.
Me: When will Mobile Payments get here?
Magic 8-Ball: Ask Again Later.
And even just the other day I was stuck in the same morass of Mobile Payments taking too long to get going, as I reviewed the status of NFC and looked at Isis getting ready to finally hit test markets — in Utah and Texas.
Then I found out about Barclaycard and their Mobile Wallet. It’s here. It’s live. It’s working in the areas where I shop.
So Let’s Get Started
All I had to do was sign up and start trying this technology out. This blog is as close as I will probably get to real-time reporting on the Credit Card Processing Industry. I’m going through the steps to acquire this purchasing power right now. Here’s what I’m doing:
Step 1: Visit this site and register for an account. This is key. You can’t just download the app and go. You need to register online first. Since you’re here online reading this blog, you can take a moment to click that link and get that out of the way.
Step 2: You go through the process of setting up an account. Choose a username, password, give your information.
Step 3: You add the card you want the wallet to charge.
Step 4: You can then download the app from the app store or google play store.
Step 5: Activate the app on your phone, and go through the log in process. You’ll be asked for your passcode, and to log in with your username and password, and even one of the additional security questions. But then you go to …
Step 6: BOOM! Start buying stuff!
Now Where do I go to Buy Stuff?
I now wanted to witness the firepower of this fully armed and operational battle station … I mean Mobile Wallet. Here’s a list of participating merchants:
Newark
SAS Cupcakes
MainStream Nutrition
Switch Skateboarding
National 5 and 10
Caffe Gelato
Coming Soon to Newark:
Gecko Fashions*
Over Easy*
Moxie Boutique*
Cosi*
Wilmington:
Al’s Sporting Goods
Harry’s Fish Market & Grill
Dryrock Café
Veritas
FireStone
eeffoc’s
Water Street Deli
Olde World Cheese Steak Factory
Cosi
Bella Vista Pizzeria
Zaikka Indian Grill
Riverfront Produce
Harry’s Seafood
Extreme Pizza
But Wait, There’s More!
This is more than just a way to buy things with your phone instead of your wallet. This program is a combination of sales promotion and mobile payment power. Now that I’m signed up and active, I will be able to pay with mobile and receive special offers from local merchants. That’s the added value — merchants who participate in this mobile wallet community will be able to offer me deals and specials. Think of it like this: It’s a mobile wallet with a built in groupon. It’s merging the best aspects of QR-Code technology and consumer convenience.
The app functions off of the QR-Code technology that we’ve discussed multiple times in the past. This technology was already ahead of other options as it had been harnessed for marketing purposes in the previous few years. In fact, it’s the one mobile payment option I’ve already had the good fortune of experiencing back in May through Fandango. These mobile payment solutions are generally pretty straightforward. They usually consist of an application on a merchant’s device that allows them to scan a barcode, or a QR Code. The QR Code scanning is becoming extremely popular, giving companies the ability to run marketing promotions as well as purchases through the use of the QR Code and its ability to capture information. Fandango’s Mobile Ticket program allows you to purchase your movie ticket through their application and then just scan the QR Code they send to your device when you arrive at the theater. This program has been gaining increased success and popularity this summer, and as we reported, set record highs for the company with the release of the blockbuster Avengers Movie.
What Barclaycard is doing is in-line with this description. You will use QR Codes to make purchases with your phone. But the app also seamlessly fuses the marketing power into the experience. As a Barclaycard Mobile Wallet user, I have access to exclusive offers available and redeemable only through the wallet. Offers will update at least once a week. I currently have no offers, but I just signed up 10 minutes ago so I will have to check back.
Today The Official Merchant Services Blog keeps on rolling along with the topic of E-Commerce. We’ve recently been looking at some of the interesting individual aspects of the sector, such as our blog about E-Commerce and Video Games the other day and our blog about Social Media Commerce yesterday. We’ve consistently reported how pervasive and commonplace online shopping has become over the past decade. Gone is the shiny newness of using a mouse to do all of your Christmas shopping. It’s now something mundane that we see most consumers in U.S. households doing when they need either the convenience of going online, or the power they have to find exactly what they want when local brick and mortar venues may not have the service or product desired.
A huge fuss has been made repeatedly over the past two years that Mobile Payment Processing, or M-Payments, are going to reap billions of dollars of profit worldwide and online shopping will shift and embrace shopping anywhere with one’s smartphone.
The King is Dead
This article from Jasper Bell at Econsultancygoes so far as to suggest that E-Commerce is dead and that a new hybrid concept, called Distributed Commerce. Bell calls it a “shift from this direct model, to an indirect, more agile way of selling.”
Bell cites the growth of social media and mobile phone usage. Bell discusses the power of what he calls “peer-influenced content” — essentially word of mouth advertising on social networks, or more simply put, you get turned on to a good or service because your Facebook friends tell you it’s cool or your twitter feed blows up — as a key factor in the paradigm shift.
He also demonstrates that the fluid ability to move from the virtual space on your mobile device to the physical realm of the area you are in and then back into the virtual realm of another device or a channel makes marketing and eventually commerce much more flexible and agile, keeping up with the consumer no matter where they go or how they get there. The International Data Corporation backs up that assertion with its findings that indicated 45% to 60% of smartphone users conducted due diligence on store prices and inventory from their devices. IDC also falls into line with companies like Garnter and Juniper about the healthy future of m-payments, predicting that by 2014 more than $50 billon will be spent on merchandise globally by consumers using their smartphones.
This agility for consumers to shop wherever using their phones as both assistants and payment option is something we have delved into with our look at the variety of Mobile Payments options. And Bell makes a really compelling point that people flip quickly between a product search on their phone’s internet access to a purchase ready state in mere clicks. Distributed Commerce is what Bell calls the evolution of E-Commerce. And it is probably the strongest reason why all of our coverage of mobile payments is still listed under the category flag of E-Commerce. We at The Official Merchant Services Blog already acknowledged this natural connection and kept them together in the larger picture of E-Commerce.
As Bell says in his article, “Commerce today is less about ‘selling in’ a channel but selling ‘through’ a channel, reaching out to consumers wherever they are and selling in that context.”
The Other Shoe
Bell’s compelling evidence for the rise of M-Payments sets his article on a course to then predict a downfall in E-Commerce. We think this is mainly due to his definition of E-Commerce referring primarily to shopping online through a PC or Mac desktop computer — ye old visit to amazon.com from your home computer. We of course lump M-Payments into the overall umbrella of E-Commerce. We also don’t feel the juggernaut that is E-Commerce is so easily deconstructed by the baby steps of M-Payments just yet.
Twenty Five Percenters
Juggernaut is too timid a term to describe E-Commerce. This infographic from Big Commerce asks the question “Will M-Commerce Overtake E-Commerce?” If you skip right down to the bottom of the graphic, the sub section titled “Brace Yourself” you find this stunning and overpowering fact: E-Commerce is expected to generate $1 trillion in revenue by 2014. The graphic also states that 54% of all retail purchases will be made online by 2014. Comparatively, M-Commerce is predicted to hit $119 billion worldwide by 2015. Mobile Payments are not going to be the death of E-Commerce just yet.
And this article by Media Post News says pretty much just that — estimating that even by 2017 m-commerce will match about 24.4% of the overall e-commerce pie. All of these projections point to staggering growth for mobile payments, but moving right along with that is the firmly established e-commerce sector that will continue to take more and more of the standard retail pie as it nom-nom-noms its way to massive revenue generation.
Big Time Processing Opportunities
What this means in terms of the payment processing industry and all the companies like Host Merchant Services that facilitate credit card transactions for merchants is simple: Our economy is going cashless. We are driving full steam ahead into a realm where we buy things with phones that will function like credit cards, or we just hop on a device/tablet/computer and click-touch-click our way to purchases. This means more and more of the purchases people make will carry the processing fees that credit card processors make their margin of profit from. As the economy becomes completely tied in to credit transactions through E-Commerce, payment processing becomes a standard. It’s something Merchants need to know about and that’s why The Official Merchant Services Blog exists.
