Using your mobile phone to do everything was once considered a pipe-dream. That day has now arrived with technology on the way which could soon make credit/debit cards obsolete.
How it works
Mobile payments, commonly referred to as ‘mobile pay’, means using your mobile to make a payment without the need for cash, cheque or credit card. Most smart phones have this technology built-in. A form of payment is initially linked with a smart phone, then simply by hovering the phone over the vendor’s device, a payment is transferred.
Banks are getting on board…
Consumers who want to utilise this technology now have a variety of options.
Commonwealth Bank was one of the first adopters, launching mobile pay through their mobile app last year. ANZ followed, teaming up with VISA to offer this service to their customers.
Apple has recently announced ‘Apple Pay’, allowing Apple users to use their iPhone or Apple watch to complete transactions. ‘Android Pay’ is set to launch to its customers in the next few months with trials currently in progress.
What are the business advantages?
Consumers will have more options at checkout giving them easy ways to pay, greater convenience and reducing the need for cash. The shift in accepted methods of payments is expected to have positive flow-on effects for most small businesses.
- One of mobile pay’s most exciting business benefits is what can be learnt from mobile transaction data. It will be easier than ever for businesses to track popular inventory items as well as monitor customer behaviour, with this research simply automated.
- Mobile pay is also expected to speed up service, with mobile payments being faster than credit cards in most circumstances.
- Working through the internet, it makes cashless transactions more accessible for stores who have traditionally struggled to offer credit card facilities.
- Security is increased, with more measures in place to keep data secure such as fingerprint authentication or backwards encryption.
How can I utilise mobile pay?
Australian small businesses currently have four main options if they want to accept mobile payments at checkout:
- Albert
Known simply as ‘Albert’, Commonwealth Bank’s new EFTPOS tablet allows mobile payments as well as same day settlement and the ability to split bills. Albert is available from $60 a month, increasing based on revenue.
- Tyro
Next most popular is ‘Tyro’. This has a fee of $29 for a terminal service or $39 for a mobile device with a fee 0.7% to 1% on sales. One of the key benefits of Tyro is that it can be fully integrated with popular accounting software, Xero.
- Square
The other option is ‘Square’, launched in March this year. Co-founded by Twitter creator Jack Dorsey in 2009, Square allows a mobile phone to be used as an EFTPOS receiver with a simple attachment for no cost, and simply pay a 1.9% fee per transaction.
- MYOB PayDirect
MYOB has recently converted their credit card reader ‘MYOB PayDirect’, into a mobile app. The app converts smartphones into an EFTPOS machine similar to ‘Square’ and is able to seamlessly link to MYOB accounting software, enabling you to create an invoice on the go and accept payment immediately. ‘PayDirect’ has no monthly fee and a 1.77% transaction Fee.
If you would like to discuss how mobile payment systems can improve efficiencies within your business and integrate with your cloud accounting solution, please don’t hesitate to contact Accru.
By Christopher Rae & Gareth Livingston, Accru Melbourne