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More and more businesses around the world are turning to mobile POS payments for B2B and B2C payments, and figuring out how to take mobile payments makes transactions outside of a traditional storefront easy and efficient for many types of businesses. These include any type of mobile business or sales that previously used invoicing and checks to get paid. Plumbers, hair stylists, event planners, gardeners, massage professionals, HVAC professionals, independent physicians, tutors, and home-service physicians are just a few examples.
It can even be a great way to modernize the POS system of more traditional merchants like restaurants and retail stores, especially since more modern mobile readers can take mobile wallet payments, which recently became the primary payment method for a majority of consumers in 2024.
To help businesses get started, this guide will cover:
- How to take mobile payments
- What equipment is necessary
- What taking mobile payments will cost
- How to get started
Let’s break down each to get a better understanding of how merchants can modernize their payment processing with mobile card readers.
How to Take Mobile Payments
To accept credit card and ACH payments by phone, you’ll need to download a processing app onto your smartphone and get a credit card reader or NFC device that can read and send card information to the app. A payment processing company provides the app, processes the payment information, takes a small fee, and deposits the rest of the payment into your company’s bank account.
Payment processing companies offer different types of plans for mobile credit card payments. These include flat-rate, tiered, and interchange-plus pricing plans. Your best bet is to talk to the company offering the plans to get a clear understanding of all prices and then do the simple math to see which is most cost-effective for the size of your business and, therefore, the volume of your sales.
What Equipment is Necessary to Take Mobile Payments?
To take mobile payments, businesses historically needed a mobile card reader or dongle that could connect to their phone via Bluetooth or the charging port. Now, businesses can use either these external hardware options or the NFC chip that is installed in modern smartphones.
Mobile Card Readers
Mobile phone credit card readers either plug into your smartphone in the earbud jack or use Bluetooth technology to send the information to the app on your phone. The information is encrypted and sent directly to the payment processing company. It is not stored on your smartphone, which protects the credit card owner and you from theft.
Some credit card readers only let you swipe the magnetic stripe to accept mobile credit card payments. These are not as safe as the readers that read chip cards using EMV technology, which is used to prevent credit card fraud.
EMV stands for Europay, Mastercard, and Visa– and with losses of up to $400 million a year from mag-stripe credit card transactions, EMV is key. It’s another layer of data protection that authenticates the credit card transaction, protecting both the merchant and the customer. It can detect unusual transactions and alert your payment processing company if an activity is suspected to be fraudulent.
NFC Chips
Near Field Communication (NFC) chips are used to accept contactless payment options like Apple Pay and Google Pay. You can either use a card reader or just a smartphone itself to accept these, so long as the phone is new enough to have this technology built-in. NFC is even more secure than EMV chip payment, and it is also more convenient for your customers, both of which are likely why it has become the most popular payment method in the US.
While NFC payments don’t require external hardware, they still require a mobile app provided by a payment processor, and it is important to make sure you still choose a processor carefully to ensure you get the best features and customer service.
Payment Processing Plan Types
What Will Taking Mobile Payment Cost?
In order to accept credit card payments by phone, you’ll need to sign up for a merchant account with a payment processor. Most credit card payment processing companies offer you several pricing plans for their service.
Start Accepting Mobile Payments with SeamlessChex
If you want to find out how to take mobile payments with a processor that looks out for your interests, SeamlessChex can help. You can easily accept payments on the go and get started with processing transactions with confidence in your security, chargeback management, and fraud protection now.
Contact us to learn more about our Seamless mobile merchant services, or sign up now to start accepting mobile payments today.
