Barry Tarrant, product manager for the UK’s mobile point of sale solution (mPOS) talks about the benefits mobile Chip & PIN Card payments can bring to small businesses and sole traders.

The use of mobile payment technology can help retailers and sole traders run their business more effectively as it means they don’t need to be constrained to their shop (if they have one), or rely on cash payments from customers if it’s a home visit.

It’s a great way to drive sales and revenue. Missed opportunities can add up. A small jeweller at a craft fair might miss out on selling stock because the customer doesn’t have enough cash (or never returns from the cashpoint).

Less risk and hassle. Better cashflow. Many tradesmen (plumbers, decorators, builders) end up waiting to be paid, which impacts their cashflow. It also means they have to spend time and effort chasing the customer up when they could be doing more important stuff.

Better customer experience. Customers expect to be able to pay by card. In some cases a card payment may be essential – imagine the plumber makes an emergency call out and it costs £400 to repair. Many people won’t have that much in their current account, but will be able to pay by credit card. It’s about giving customers more choice when paying for goods and services.

So how does mPOS work?
• A low cost PINpad device (now reduced to a £20 one-off payment) is connected to the merchant’s existing smartphone or tablet (physically, or via Bluetooth

• A free app on the mobile or tablet securely manages the card payment transaction, which includes payment authorisation and then sends the customer a receipt via email and / or SMS if required

The payment will then appear in the business’s account and they can access their payment history on their mobile. Once they’re set up, each customer transaction will incur a competitive cost of 2.75%.

The service is available on Android and BlackBerry now, with the iOS version coming soon.

Find out more here.

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