Accept Cards with your Mobile Phone

If you are a small business owner who is on the move, you may be interested in learning more about how to accept cards for payment with your mobile phone. There are currently several ways to do this, including scanning cards with a hardware attachment, typing in the information with the phone keyboard or even taking a photo of the card and sending it right to your bank. With so many people wanting to pay with credit over cash, if you don't have a brick and mortar store with POS hardware or often sell your wares at festivals, flea markets or trade shows, this could be the perfect solution.

The advantages of accepting payment through your mobile phone are many. You will get paid immediately, process any credit card, get authorization in seconds, no bulky or heavy equipment or point of sale hardware, credit card information is never stored in your phone, and it is so easy for you to use.

One way is to download an app. For instance, if you have an iPhone or Android based phone, downloading the app from your merchant services account is all you need to do. Log in and you will be able to accept cards in minutes. With a swipe of the card, scan or manually typing the info in, you will charge the card immediately and the cash will be in your account. You will, within seconds, have a confirmation e-mail, text or receipt that you can forward to your customer.

Another way to accept cards is a piece of hardware you can attach to your phone which is like a small credit card swipe machine or wireless terminal. Using one of these attachments for your mobile phone can be convenient and it can also be much cheaper that accepting payment with an actual credit card machine.

If you don't have a phone that can support apps or don't want to purchase the hardware, you can also dial the information into your merchant account services company. You can accept cards by simply dialing a toll-free number, entering the credit card info on your dial pad and the charge will be cleared in seconds.

Businesses that can really benefit from mobile credit card acceptance include plumbers, electricians, landscapers, limo drivers, taxi companies and carpet cleaners. Several of these accounts can be used by many people, so for instance, if you own a plumbing company, every plumber on staff can accept cards with their mobile phones.

Your customers can feel secure knowing that their information is safe as these types of transactions are totally secure and have anti-fraud software, just like normal credit card machines. Since you will not be using a lot of paper, if any, and there no need for additional equipment, when you accept cards via your mobile phone, you will be spending less money and keeping your expenses down.

Contacting your merchant services account representative or researching new options is the best way to get started. Once you have opened the account you will be accepting payments in moments and your business will be running more efficiently from now on.