Mobile Credit Card Proccessing
The future of mobile credit card processing is in that shiny new smartphone so many consumers are now carrying on their hips. Whether you love your iPhone, Mobile Windows device, or your Treo, the number of applications available to you to allow for credit card processing is ever increasing. This is particularly welcome news to small business owners like photographers, direct sales business owners and vendors at farmers markets.
Developers know that smartphone sales are increasing and businesses, especially small, mobile businesses, have a true need for easy methods of processing credit card payments. Applications like the CredCard Terminal from InnerFence, the Mobile Processing Solution from ProcessAway and the Charge Anywhere for Windows Mobile offer simple, relatively low cost solutions for businesses in need. Developers are continuing to push for applications like these, and other business related applications, as they know that smartphones will be increasingly attractive to business owners with so much functionality available.
Mobile credit processing applications are particularly attractive as they free merchants and business owners from storefronts and office space. No longer tied to a land-line and specialized processing equipment they can travel directly to their customers – and receive payment immediately! These mobile applications adhere to the PCI Security Standards Council’s latest data security standards, which makes them as secure as making online purchases from encrypted Web sites, or even manual-swipe terminals in brick and mortar stores.
Authorize.net for example, ensures communications between itself and the user’s smartphone are encrypted from point to point. When a merchant logs into the iPhone application, they do so by entering a user name and password. This user name and password are stored on an encrypted key chain device attached to the iPhone. Credit card information is not stored in the application as per industry rules.
The process for using processing applications on smartphones follows a general procedure. First, the merchant will enter information including, purchase amount, credit card number, card expiry date and ZIP codes via the phone’s keyboard or touch-screen. Some applications will also allow for data such as product description and invoice number to be entered. The information is then transmitted over the application’s processor (such as Authorize.net) and the merchant will receive a confirmation that the charge has been processed, or even denied. This means that merchants will know immediately if the payment is unsuccessful and can have the customer supply another method of payment or even a different credit card. This can eliminate the problem of debt collection at later times, saving merchants time and money. Also, being offered the option of on-demand credit card payment may cause consumers to spend more money, always a welcome possibility for merchants.
Mobile merchants have incredible options available to them thanks to evolving development in mobile credit card processing applications. Smartphones are definitely becoming a must have business tool for the savvy, on the go, business owner. After all, who can resist increased sales, faster collections and fewer bad debts to collect upon.
