Smart Phone Processing Outside a Square

In the past there was only one option when it came to truly mobile processing, the cellular credit card terminal. While these devices work great and offer fast, stable, transactions, they are expensive and come with additional monthly fees from a wireless provider. As technology has progressed, so have the wireless processing options, like the smartphone or tablet. Setting up a smartphone or tablet to process your credit card transactions is a great alternative to traditional wireless devices, by offering a lower cost of entry and flexible options.

For many merchants smartphones and tablets offer a conventional way to accept credit card payments, however many of the popular options, like Square, come with high per transaction costs that can really add up. If  your business is processing less than $2,000 per month in credit card sales its generally more cost effective to use a company like Square because of their lack of monthly and annual fees. On the other hand if your processing volume exceeds $2,000 per month, paying lower transaction fees through a full service merchant account will generally more than offset any added monthly fees, not to mention the availability of dedicated support with a full service merchant account. Take for example a food truck processing $10,000 per month with a Square account. At a flat 2.75% per swipe fee they are going to be paying $275 per month in credit card fees. With a full service merchant account costing them $12 per month and a lower effective swipe rate of 2.00% they would pay $212 per month, which is more than a 20% savings.

Our team has a lot of experience with the many options out there and would be happy to help you get started in the right direction. We do offer several different variations of this service supporting both Android and Apple products through our MSMobile program. MSMobile customers are charged a small monthly fee, starting at $12 per month, and have a choice of rate structures including a flat rate option, which is lower than Squares 2.75%. From how you charge your customers to how your fees are structured MSMobile enables you the power to choose whats right for your business, which is why it has become one of our most popular wireless account options.

Reach out to one of our specialists or call us at (888) 528-0058 today and let us show you how we can put together a custom quote for your business.

Mobile Wallets (Apple and Samsung Pay)

Does your business accept mobile wallet payments? A couple years ago mobile wallets were mostly unheard of and merchant acceptance was low outside of the eCommerce environment. Today with the rise of Apple Pay and Sumsung Pay, mobile wallets have started to take off and are projected to increase in coming years as more and more businesses add the ability to accept these payments. In an article last year, CIO.com, said that in 2014 0.5% of NFC equipped smartphones were used at least once a month, and they were expecting that number to be closer to 5.0% by the end of 2015. This does make up a small portion of today payment volume, however over the next few years we expect to see a substantial increase in processing volume.

How do mobile devices work with mobile wallets?

Both Apple Pay and Sumsung Pay use Near Field Communication (NFC) to communicate with a business’s Point of Sale using tokenization to secure the card data. Basically when you register your credit card with your Apple or Samsung device the card issuer registers your card number to your mobile device. This means that neither the mobile device or its manufacturer needs to keep your card number on file. When you make a purchase on an NFC enabled point of sale the mobile device sends a one time use token, instead of a card number, that is recognized by the card issuer and linked back to your credit card.

Some devices equipped with Samsung Pay magnetic secure transmission (MST) which can work on almost any existing point of sale system. MST basically broadcasts your credit card data to the point of sale device just as the device would read the data from the traditional magnetic swipe on the credit card. This feature is clearly less secure than NFC, however MST only works within 3 inches of your mobile device and the transmission only lasts a second or two. Meaning if someone wanted to steal your card data, they would have to be awkwardly close to you for the moment that your mobile device sent the MST signal.

How do I start accepting payments from mobile wallets?

Start by speaking to your processor first. You just need an NFC enabled point of sale and the correct software, however you will want to make sure the hardware you purchase is supported by your processor. Many credit card terminals like Verifone’s Vx520 have an optional NFC reader, or you may even be able to add an accessory to your existing device to enable NFC payments. Once you have the required hardware your credit card processor can help you install the required software in your terminal.