Mobile Payment Technology: How to Help Customers Part With Their Money

David Worrell
Tue, 01 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0000

In 1973 the first ATMs changed the way customers paid. And 50 years later, they remain a vital fixture of retailers, gas stations, and banks . . . for now. But cash and ATMs are quickly losing their appeal as new technology gives almost every customer a direct digital pipeline into their bank and credit accounts.

Literally, your customers are now carrying ATMs in their pockets and the impact on business will be staggering as consumers choose to use cell phones to make “mobile payments.” Technically, mobile payments include a mix of transactions enabled by, or enhanced by, cell phones, tablet PCs, and other internet-connected devices. So even if you are not a bricks-and-mortar retailer, get ready to get mobile.

Mobile payment options

The question is no longer “cash or credit,” but a laundry list of options, including cash or credit . . . plus:

PayPal

Google Wallet

Your cell phone

The day when a customer walks into your shop with nothing but his iPhone is already here. Do you want his money or not?

The investment is worth the payout. These services are not going away. One option brags that it enables any internet-connected device to make payments. Think about it. My TV is internet-connected. So is my game console and my phone. Even my radio, refrigerator, and thermostats are all tied to the internet. Want to sell my thermostat a maintenance package or an energy audit? The time is now.

Keep it simple

I can hear you screaming—enough already! This is too much, too soon. Okay. Start simple. The simplest and best way that you can help your customers pay is by implementing near-field communication (NFC). Think of it as a simple substitute for a retail credit card scanner.

Like its cousin Bluetooth, NFC communicates wirelessly between your credit card machine and a nearby cell phone. It reads the account info of the (NFC-enabled) phone, and charges the customer’s phone account (or any other account he has set up). The NFC device has to be close—about two inches away or less—and the user has to confirm the purchase with a PIN.

NFC literally turns a cell phone into an ATM machine. Of course it takes new equipment on both sides: your scanner and the consumer's phone have to be enabled. But all signs point to this being the tipping point for NFC in retail and online.

The adoption of NFC—and the other mobile payment technologies—is happening at lightening speed. How you react to mobile payment technology is up to you: harness that lightning, or get struck by it.

Now is the time to be sure that you are keeping up with your customers. Go mobile and keep the payments flowing!

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