Category: Mobile Point of Sale

Point-of-Sale Email Collection

Merchant go into business to make a sale. They go to great length to advertise their business and then they make a sale and don’t track it… They don’t track the very customer they went into business to attract…That seems crazy…But now more companies are embracing the practice of collecting email addresses at the point of sale (POS) and they’re doing so with increasing regularity. An example, when customers are at the cash register, many brick-and-mortar stores now offer to email them receipts 

Confidently collect email addresses at POS:
Your email service provider should be able to implement a text-to-join acquisition program for you that executes quickly and can be built specifically to mitigate the risks around POS data collection.

Instead of relying on sales associates to accurately input email addresses, your customers can use SMS to text their email addresses to your short code.

Customers receive an immediate SMS reply message letting them know to check their email for their receipt.

A mobile-optimized receipt is immediately emailed to the address.

This can be followed by an email inviting customers to join your company’s email program. Offering a purchase discount can increase opt-ins. New joiners can be sent an age verification email, if relevant.

Your welcome email, including discount coupon, is sent and the relationship starts off on the right foot.

Increasing your confidence about POS email address collection, a text-to-join program can increase your acquisition rates. It can engage those customers who prefer to provide their information privately via their mobile devices. It can help protect companies against potential blacklisting because of typos and confirmed opt-ins. It can even reduce overhead costs by saving sales associates valuable time. Understanding these important email address collection issues and adopting the prescribed best practices are critical to ensuring customers have a safe, positive and valuable experience with your company at the point of sale and beyond. 

Virtual Merchant can collect data too, and as a provider we can help merchant use that data. We are committed to providing appropriate protection for the information that is collected from customers who visit the website and use the Virtual Merchant payment system. Policy Privacy is updated from time to time.The website is provided to our customers as a business service and use of the site is limited to customers only.

If the merchant never makes a sale before 10 why do they open at 9 ?? This is only one small example on how collecting data first and then analyzing that data can shape businesses and find money you may be throwing away ….

 

 

 

 

Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Mobile Point of Sale, Point of Sale Tagged with: brick and mortar, business, cash, cash register, customers, data, discount, discount coupon, email, merchant, mobile, Mobile Devices, payment, payment system, point of sale, policy, POS, provider, purchase, Rates, receipts, sale, service, sms, store's, virtual merchant, website

iPad Point-Of-Sale (POS) System

If your businesses considering an iPad point-of-sale (POS) system, you may be up for a challenge. Not only can the plethora of providers be overwhelming, but you must also remember that not all iPad POS systems are created equal. iPad POS systems do more than process payments and complete transactions. They also offer advanced capabilities that streamline operations. For instance, they can eliminate manual data entry by integrating accounting software, customer databases and inventory counts in real time, as each transaction occurs. With these systems, you get 24/7 access to sales data without having to be in the store. The challenge, however, is knowing which provider and set of features offer the best iPad POS solution for your business. iPad POS systems vary in functionality far more than the traditional POS solutions and are often targeted at specific verticals rather than the entire market. For that reason, it’s especially important to compare features between systems to ultimately select the right system for your business.

To help you choose a provider, here are things to look for in an iPad POS system.

Backend capabilities

One of the biggest benefits of an iPad POS system is that it offers advanced features that can streamline your entire operations. These include backend processes, such as inventory tracking, data analysis and reporting, and social media integration. As a small business, two of the most important time saving and productivity-boosting features to look for are customer relationship management (CRM) capabilities and connectivity to other sales channels. You’ll want an iPad POS that has robust CRM and a customizable customer loyalty program. It should tell you which products are most and least frequently purchased by specific customers at various store locations. It should also be able to identify the frequent VIP shoppers from the less frequent ones at any one of your store locations, creating the ultimate customer loyalty program for the small business owner. If you own an online store or use a mobile app to sell your products and services, your iPad POS software should also be able to integrate those online platforms with in-store sales. Not only will this provide an automated, centralized sales database, but it can also help increase total sales. You should be able to sell effortlessly through online, mobile and in-store channels. Why should your customers be limited to the people who walk by your store? Your iPad POS should be able to help you sell your products through more channels, online and on mobile. E-commerce and mobile commerce (mCommerce) aren’t just for big box retailers.

Cloud-based

The functions of an iPad POS solution don’t necessarily have to stop in-store. If you want to have anytime, anywhere access to your POS system, you can use one of the many providers with advanced features that give business owners visibility over their stores, its records and backend processes using the cloud. The best tablet-based POS systems operate on a cloud and allow you to operate it from any location you want. An iPad POS provider, with a cloud-based iPad POS system, businesses can keep tabs on stores in real time using any device, as well as automatically back up data. This gives business owners access to the system on their desktops, tablets or smartphones, even when not inside their stores. Using a cloud-based system also protects all the data that’s stored in your point of sale so you don’t have to worry about losing your data or, even worse, getting it stolen. Because the cloud plays such a significant role, businesses should also look into the kind of cloud service an iPad POS provider uses. In other words, is the system a cloud solution capable of expanding, or is it an app on the iPad that is not dependent on the Internet? Who is the cloud vendor? Is it a premium vendor? The type of cloud a provider uses can give you an idea about its reliability and the functions the provider will offer.

Downtime and technical support

As a small business, you need an iPad POS provider that has your back when something goes wrong. There are two types of customer support to look for: Downtime support and technical support.

iPad POS systems are often cheaper and simpler than traditional systems, but that doesn’t mean you can ignore the product support needs. The POS is a key element of your business and any downtime will likely result in significant revenue loss. You could, for instance, experience costly downtime when you lose Internet connectivity. iPad POS systems primarily rely on the Web to perform their core functions, but this doesn’t mean that when the Internet goes down, your business has to go down, too. Many providers offer offline support to keep your business going, such as Always on Mode. The Always on Mode setting enables your business to continue running even in the event of an Internet outage. Otherwise, your business will lose money during a loss of connectivity. Downtime can also happen due to technical problems within the hardware or software. Most iPad POS providers boast of providing excellent tech support, but you never really know what type of customer service you’ll actually receive until a problem occurs.

Test the friendliness of customer service reps by calling or emailing the provider with questions and concerns before signing any contracts. This way, you can see how helpful their responses are before you purchase their solution. Your POS is the most important device in your store. It’s essentially the gateway to all your transactions, customer data and inventory. If anything happens to it, you’ll need to be comfortable knowing that someone is there to answer your questions and guide you through everything.

Grows with your business

All growing businesses need tech solutions that can grow right along with them. Not all iPad POS systems are scalable, so look for a provider that makes it easy to add on more terminals and employees as your business expands. Pay attention to how the software handles growth in sales and in personnel. As a business grows, so does it sales volume and the required software capabilities. Some iPad POS solutions are designed for very small businesses, offering very limited features and transactions. If you have plans for growth, look for a provider that can handle the changes in transactions your business will be going through. Find out about features and customization. Does the system do what you want it to do? Can it handle large volume? How much volume? What modules can you add, and how do you interface to third parties? You should also consider the impacts of physical expansion and adding on new equipment and employees. If there are plans in the future for you to open another store location, you’ll need to make sure that your point of sale has the capabilities of actually handling another store location without adding more work for you. If you plan on hiring more employees for your store, you’ll also want to know that the solution you choose can easily be learned, so onboarding new staff won’t take up too much of your time.

Security

POS cyber attacks have risen dramatically over the past couple of years, making it more critical than ever to protect your business. Otherwise, it’s not just your business information at risk, but also your reputation and entire operations. iPad POS system security is a bit tricky, however. Unlike credit card swipers and mobile credit card readers that have long-established security standards namely, Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliance — the criteria for the iPad hardware itself as a POS terminal aren’t quite so clear-cut. Since iPads cannot be certified as PCI compliant, merchants must utilize a point-to-point encryption system that leaves the iPad out of scope. This means treating the iPad as its own system, which includes making sure it doesn’t save credit-card information or sensitive data on the iPad itself. To stay protected, look for PCI-certified, encrypted card swipers.

 

 

Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Mobile Point of Sale, Point of Sale Tagged with: (POS) systems, accounting, app, business, card, cloud-based, credit, credit card readers, credit-card, crm, customer, customer relationship management, customer support, data, data analysis, database, desktops, e-commerce, inventory, iPad Point-Of-Sale, loyalty program, mcommerce, mobile, mobile app, mobile commerce, online, online platforms, Payment Card Industry, payments, PCI, platforms, POS, POS solution, products, sales, Security, security standards, services, Smartphones, social media, software, tablets, terminal, transactions, web

Unified MPOS?

The move to mobile point of sale (mobile POS) is radically changing the face of customer interactions and payments, as both customers and merchants grow increasingly comfortable with the concept of mobile payments. In the current, crowded marketplace most mobile payment solutions are not compatible with each other. Instead of unifying the payment experience they create islands separated by technology or usage that are tailored to individual providers in the market. Multiple devices are currently needed in-store to process different payment types and the challenge is how they can make payments unified in such a way that only one device is needed in store.

The use of cash by customers also adds a level of complication to the mobile POS story. The removal of IDM terminals, removal of customer queues and ability for customers to simply walk up and pay an assistant or to leave a store and have their bank card automatically debited certainly suits the expectations of customers today, however a large number of customers still use traditional cash methods to pay for goods and services. A number of stores that have gone down the route of implementing mobile POS now have a problem dealing with cash because the wandering shop assistants and personal shoppers can only accept card or web-based payment options. The future for mobile POS has potential to be bright, a dominant player will have to emerge in the market. This will break down the technology barriers and usage barriers between different players. The success to mobile POS lies in the payment process being truly unified with one device in one place and very seamless workflow. This will be very complicated thing to achieve, there have been a lot of attempts and a lot of false starts in the history of mobile POS. MPOS will be the future. Five years from now people will be amazed that they did transactions with landlines. NO child will ever see a telephone with a cord attached. Never a popcorn on top of the stove since we developed microwave ovens. Technology changes, and we are slow to adopt new stuff. Once we change we don’t know how we did without it.

Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Mobile Payments, Mobile Point of Sale, Point of Sale, Smartphone Tagged with: bank, card, cash, customer, devices, IDM terminals, Merchant's, mobile, mobile point of sale, MPOS, payment solutions, payment types, payments, point of sale, POS, provider's, services, technology, terminals, web-based payment

The push that mobile payments need – iPhone 6

While Apple doesn’t talk about future products,latest report that the next iPhone would include mobile-payment capabilities powered by a short-distance wireless technology called near-field communication or NFC. Apple is hosting an event on September 9^th, that’s widely expected to be the debut of the next iPhone or iPhones. Mobile payments, or the notion that you can pay for goods and services at the checkout with your smartphone, may finally break into the mainstream if Apple and the iPhone 6 get involved.

Apple’s embrace of mobile payments would represent a watershed moment for how people pay at drugstores, supermarkets or for cabs. The technology and capability to pay with a tap of your mobile device has been around for years, you can tap an NFC-enabled Samsung Galaxy S5 or NFC-enabled credit card at point-of-sale terminals found at many Walgreen drugstores, but awareness and usage remain low.  Apple has again the opportunity to transform, disrupt and reshape an entire business sector. It is hard to overestimate what impact Apple could have if it really wants to play in the payments market.

Apple won’t be the first to enter the mobile-payments arena. Google introduced its Google Wallet service in May 2011. The wireless carriers formed their joint venture with the intent to create a platform for mobile payments. Apple tends to stay away from new technologies until it has had a chance to smooth out the kinks. It was two years behind some smartphones in offering an iPhone that could tap into the faster LTE wireless network. NFC was rumored to be included in at least the last two iPhones and could finally make its appearance in the iPhone 6. The technology will be the linchpin to enabling transactions at the checkout.

Struggles

The notion of turning smartphones into true digital wallets including the ability to pay at the register, has been hyped up for years. But so far, it’s been more promise than results. There have been many technical hurdles to making mobile devices an alternative to cash, checks, and credit cards. NFC technology has to be included in both the smartphone and the point-of-sale terminal to work, and it’s been a slow process getting NFC chips into more equipment. NFC has largely been relegated to a feature found on higher-end smartphones such as the Galaxy S5 or the Nexus 5. There’s also confusion on both sides, the merchant and the customer, on how the tech works and why tapping your smartphone on a checkout machine is any faster, better or easier than swiping a card. There’s a chicken-and-egg problem between lack of user adoption and lack of retailer adoption. It’s one reason why even powerhouses such as Google have struggled. Despite a splashy launch of its digital wallet and payment service more than three years ago, Google hasn’t won mainstream acceptance or even awareness  for its mobile wallet. Google hasn’t said how many people are using Google Wallet, but a look at its page on the Google Play store lists more than 47,000 reviews giving it an average of a four-star rating.

The Puzzle

Apple has quietly built the foundation to its mobile-payment service in Passbook, an app introduced two years ago in its iOS software and released as a feature with the iPhone 4S. Passbook has so far served as a repository for airline tickets, membership cards, and credit card statements. While it started out with just a handful of compatible apps, Passbook works with apps from Delta, Starbucks, Fandango, The Home Depot, and more. But it could potentially be more powerful. Apple’s already made great inroads with Passbook, it could totally crack open the mobile payments space in the US. Apple could make up a fifth of the share of the mobile-payment transactions in a short few months after the launch. The company also has the credit or debit card information for virtually all of its customers thanks to its iTunes service, so it doesn’t have to go the extra step of asking people to sign up for a new service. That takes away one of the biggest hurdles to adoption. The last piece of the mobile-payments puzzle with the iPhone is the fingerprint recognition sensor Apple added into last year’s iPhone 5S. That sensor will almost certainly make its way to the upcoming iPhone 6. The fingerprint sensor, which Apple obtained through its acquisition of Authentic in 2012, could serve as a quick and secure way of verifying purchases, not just through online purchases, but large transactions made at big-box retailers such as Best Buy. Today, you can use the fingerprint sensor to quickly buy content from Apple’s iTunes, App and iBooks stores.

The bigger win for Apple is the services and features it could add on to a simple transaction, if it’s successful in raising the awareness of a form of payment that has been quietly lingering for years. Google had previously seen mobile payments as the optimal location for targeted advertisements and offers. It’s those services and features that ultimately matter in the end, replacing a simple credit card swipe isn’t that big of a deal.

 

Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Mobile Payments, Mobile Point of Sale, Smartphone Tagged with: app, Apple, card, card swipe, cash, checkout machine, checks, chips, credit, credit card swipe, credit-card, customer, debit card, Digital wallets, fingerprint recognition, fingerprint sensor, Galaxy S5, Google Wallet, iOS, Iphone, market, merchant, mobile, mobile device, mobile payment, mobile wallet, Near Field Communication, network, Nexus 5, nfc, payment, payment service, platform, point of sale, products, sensor, services, smartphone, software, statements, swiping card, terminals, transactions, wireless technology

Scan Your Groceries with a Grocery Shopping App

Scanning your groceries yourself with the supermarket’s handheld scanner is something you may well have already done. Instead of waiting in line for a cashier to scan, tally and bag your groceries, you save time by scanning as you go and doing your own check-out. However, now in certain grocery stores you can go even further by using a bar code scanner app in your own smartphone to scan each grocery item you’re buying and to expand your shopping experience by receiving personalized offers, syncing with loyalty cards and tracking your budget while you shop. The first supermarket company in the United States to make this available to customers has been the Stop & Shop Supermarket Company LLC, with its Scan It! Mobile app service. Starting with three grocery stores and plans to roll out the capability to 45 more of its stores in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. The company could extend the service to the 400 or so grocery stores it operates in total, including the other states of New Hampshire, New York and New Jersey. 

How Can You Use a Bar Code Scanner App?

By using a grocery shopping app like this in your smartphone, you can not only get directions on how to find the store in the first place, but once you’re there, you can also get relevant and specific offers according to where you are in the store and what you’ve already bought. With targeted coupons being sent to your smartphone for each shopping trip, you can save money as well; Stop & Shop estimates possible savings for customers on groceries of between $250 and $500 per year. The grocery shopping app also gives customers access to online accounts, including checking for gas points, A+ School Rewards and personalized savings, as well as to daily information about sales promotions for stores in general. To use the app to scan your groceries, you aim the camera of your phone at the bar code of a grocery item to see the price on your phone screen and to add it to an electronic shopping basket. When you’ve finished shopping, the bar code scanner app transmits the information via the supermarket’s Wi-Fi network to the point of sale, where you pay as you would normally. The same wireless network also allows the retailer to send you personalized information.

Happy customers and increased sales are not the only benefits for grocery stores making such bar code scanner apps available to customers with smartphones. Because the customer has in effect already financed the scanning device (the smartphone), grocery stores can envisage making corresponding savings by reducing the amount of in-store scanners they have to buy, as well as decreasing labor costs, which are typically between 12% and 15% of their total expenses.

Check Your Smartphone Compatibility

Using your mobile to do this means having a compatible smartphone. Currently for the Scan It! Mobile grocery shopping app you’ll need either an iPhone 3GS or 4G, or a compatible Android device. The list validated so far includes Android 2.2 running on Nexus One, Motorola Droid1, Samsung Galaxy, and HTC Thunderbolt 4G. The app can be downloaded for free at the Apple App Store or the Android Market.

 

Posted in Mobile Payments, Mobile Point of Sale, Smartphone Tagged with: Android device, Android Market, app, Apple App Store, bar code, bar code scanner app, coupons, electronic shopping, HTC Thunderbolt, in-store scanners, Iphone, loyalty cards, mobile app, Mobile app service, Mobile grocery shopping app, Motorola Droid1, Nexus One, online accounts, point of sale, Samsung Galaxy, scan, scanner, shopping app, smartphone, Stop & Shop, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi network, wireless network

Facial-recognition product using NFC

A point-of-sale facial recognition system that uses NFC to help combat card fraud has been created during a recent company hack-a-thon, together with a group of engineers and designers from Logic PD. Hackathon was an opportunity for experts to explore the possibilities of useful solutions to today’s challenges, with the recent significant breaches in security at leading retailers, the need for this type of solution is particularly meaningful.

The solution, is a multi-modal security platform for card purchases, uses NFC authentication combined with camera imaging to protect users. When users make a mobile payment at the point of sale, the kiosk snaps a picture of the purchaser. This image can be incorporated via the cloud into the user’s digital transactional record, which was stored and distributed via SeeControl in this example, allowing users to identify who made each purchase, and easily identify those that are fraudulent even before banks and financial institutions.

Posted in Credit Card Security, Mobile Payments, Mobile Point of Sale, Point of Sale, Smartphone Tagged with: banks, breaches, card, card fraud, card purchases, cloud, digital, facial recognition system, financial institutions, mobile payment, nfc, NFC authentication, platform, point of sale, retailers, Security, security platform

Mobile Credit Card Processing Myths

Mobile credit card processing is way cheaper than traditional point-of-sale (POS) systems. Accepting credit cards using mobile devices is stressful, not to mention a hassle to set up  and customers would never dare compromise security by saving or swiping their credit cards on a mobile device. Some of the many myths surrounding mobile payments, which allow merchants to process credit card payments using smartphones and tablets. Merchants process payments using a physical credit card reader attached to a mobile device or by scanning previously stored credit card information from a mobile app, as is the case with mobile wallets. Benefits include convenience, a streamlined POS system and access to a breadth of business opportunities based on collected consumer data. Nevertheless, mobile payments as a whole remains a hotly debated topic among retailers, customers and industry experts alike.

Although mobile payment adoption has been slow, consumers are steadily shifting their preferences as an increasing number of merchants implement mobile payment technologies (made easier and more accessible by major mobile payment players such as Square and PayPal). To stay competitive, it’s more important than ever for small businesses to stay current and understand where mobile payment technology is heading.

If you’re considering adopting mobile payments or are simply curious about the technology, here are mobile payment myths that you may have heard, but are completely untrue. 

All rates are conveniently the same. Thanks to the marketing of big players like Square and PayPal – which are not actually credit card processors, but aggregators rates can vary widely and significantly. For instance, consider that the average debit rate is 1.35 percent. Square’s is 2.75 percent and PayPal Here’s is 2.7 percent, so customers will have to pay an additional 1.41 percent and 1.35 percent, respectively, using these two services. Some cards also get charged well over 4 percent, such as foreign rewards cards. These companies profit & mobile customers lose. Always read the fine print.

Credit card information is stored on my mobile device after a transaction. Good mobile developers do not store any critical information on the device. That information should only be transferred through an encrypted, secure handshake between the application and the processor. No information should be stored or left hanging around following the transaction.

I already have a POS system – the hassle isn’t worth it. Mobile payments offer more flexibility to reach the customer than ever before. No longer are sales people tied to a cash register and counters to finish the sale. That flexibility can mean the difference between revenue and a lost sale. Mobile payments also have the latest technology to track sales, log revenue, fight chargebacks, and analyze performance quickly and easily.

If we build it, they will come. Many wallet providers believe that if you simply build a new mobile payment method into the phones, consumers will adopt it as their new wallet.   This includes proponents of NFC technology, QR codes, Bluetooth and other technologies, but given very few merchants have the POS systems to accept these new types of technologies, consumers have not adopted. Currently, only 6.6 percent of merchants can accept NFC, and even less for QR codes or BLE technology, hence the extremely slow adoption rate.  Simply put, the new solutions are NOT convenient, and do not replace consumers’ existing wallets, not even close.

It raises the risk of fraud. Fraud’s always a concern. However, since data isn’t stored on the device for Square and others, the data is stored on their servers, the risk is lessened. For example, there’s no need for you to fear one of your employees walking out with your tablet and downloading all of your customers’ info from the tablet. There’s also no heightened fraud risk for data loss if a tablet or mobile device is ever sold.

Mobile processing apps are error-free. Data corruption glitches do happen on wireless mobile devices. A merchant using mobile credit card processing apps needs to be more diligent to review their mobile processing transactions. Mobile technology is fantastic when it works.

Mobile wallets are about to happen. They aren’t about to happen, especially in developed markets like the U.S. It took 60 years to put in the banking infrastructure we have today and it will take years for mobile wallets to achieve critical mass here.

Setup is difficult and complicated. Setting up usually just involves downloading the vendor’s app and following the necessary steps to get the hardware and software up and running. The beauty of modern payment solutions is that like most mobile apps, they are built to be user-friendly and intuitive so merchants would have little trouble setting them up. Most mobile payment providers offer customer support as well, so you can always give them a call in the unlikely event that you have trouble setting up the system.

The biggest business opportunity in the mobile payments space is in developed markets. While most investments and activity in the Mobile Point of Sale space take place today in developed markets (North America and Western Europe), the largest opportunity is actually in emerging markets where most merchants are informal and by definition can’t get a merchant account to accept card payments. Credit and debit card penetration is higher in developed markets, but informal merchants account for the majority of payments volume in emerging markets and all those transactions are conducted in cash today.

Wireless devices are unreliable. Reliability is very often brought up as I think many businesses are wary of fully wireless setups. I think this is partly justified, but very easily mitigated, for example with a separate Wi-Fi network solely for point of sale and payments. With the right device, network equipment, software and card processor, reliability shouldn’t be an issue.

Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Mobile Payments, Mobile Point of Sale, Smartphone Tagged with: (POS) systems, aggregators rates, apps, BLE technology, bluetooth, card, card processor, card reader, cash, cash register, chargebacks, consumer data, credit, credit card payments, credit card processing, credit card processors, credit card reader, credit-card, customer support, data, data loss, debit card, debit rate, device, fraud, fraud risk, hardware, industry experts, merchant account, Merchant's, mobile, mobile app, mobile credit card processing, Mobile Devices, Mobile Payments, mobile point of sale, Mobile processing apps, mobile processing transactions, mobile technology, mobile wallets, network, network equipment, nfc, nfc technology, payment solutions, payment technology, PayPal, phones, point of sale, qr codes, retailers, rewards cards, Security, Smartphones, software, Square, tablet, tablets, vendor's app, wallet providers, Wi-Fi network, wireless mobile, wireless mobile devices

Apple stores get new mPOS tech for chip and PIN move

New iPhone and VeriFone-made shell combination that can accept chip and PIN card payments. Apple’s revamp in its in-store mPOS system

In 2009, Apple introduced its EasyPay mPOS technology. It consists of an iPod Touch and a shell made by Infinite Peripherals that includes a card swiper and a barcode scanner.

As first reported by 9to5mac,the iPod is now being replaced by an iPhone while VeriFone is being brought in to provide a new shell which will cater for chip and PIN payments as the US finally gets ready for the switch to EMV. The shell also has a spot above the PIN pad that opens the way for NFC contactless payments, according to Forbes. Apple has long been expected to equip the iPhone with NFC but has so far ignored the technology.

Separately, mPOS giant Square has ditched its Wallet app, pulling it from the Google and Apple stores. The app has failed to take off since its launch in 2011, despite the support of Starbucks. It has been replaced by Square Orders, which lets users order and pay ahead at participating merchants and then pick up their goods when they are ready.

Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Mobile Payments, Mobile Point of Sale, Point of Sale, Smartphone Tagged with: app, Apple stores, Apple's, barcode, barcode scanner, card, card swiper, chip, contactless payments, EasyPay, EMV, Forbes, google, in-store mPOS, Infinite Peripherals, Iphone, iPod, iPod Touch, Merchant's, MPOS, mPOS giant, mPOS system, mPOS technology, nfc, NFC contactless payments, PIN, PIN card, PIN card payments, PIN pad, Square, Starbucks, swiper, verifone, Wallet app

Mobile POS Chip-and-PIN

Mobile commerce platform provider ROAM, an Ingenico company has expanded its mPOS solutions to include chip-and-PIN acceptance with the RP750x mobile card reader. The reader allows mPOS players to get to market quickly with their own custom-branded solution, providing merchants with a powerful set of features that include device and fraud management, remote application configuration, and an mPOS application that can be localized for any language and currency in any country. Features include: Backlit display, EMV PIN pad, magnetic stripe reader, NFC reader and smart card reader. Configurable through the cloud, enabling direct shipment from factory to any country. Connects with smartphones, tablets and feature phones via Bluetooth or audio jack. Customizable for branding and form factor. Just Slightly larger than a credit card, a compact form factor. PCI PTS 3.1 with SRED, EMV Level 1 and 2, Visa-ready (Compliant with the latest industry standards).

Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, Credit Card Reader Terminal, e-commerce & m-commerce, EMV EuroPay MasterCard Visa, Financial Services, Mobile Payments, Mobile Point of Sale, Near Field Communication, Payment Card Industry PCI Security, Point of Sale, Smartphone, smartSD Cards, Visa MasterCard American Express Tagged with: bluetooth, Chip and PIN, cloud, compliant, credit-card, currency, EMV, fraud, magnetic stripe reader, Merchant's, mobile card reader, Mobile commerce platform, mPOS solutions, nfc, PIN pad, smart card reader, Smartphones, tablets, visa

Mobile Device App for your Business

Mobile Business App.

Customers should be able to easily find you wherever they are, from any device. Mobile presence is more or less essential for business success in today’s world, whether you just have a mobile-optimized website, or a full-scale dedicated mobile application for your business.

With smartphones and tablets, people have a computer in their pockets when they’re out and about are where people are engaging with content, so business want a mobile strategy.

The problem many businesses have with mobile strategy development is determining what is most effective, both in terms of reach and cost. Creating a mobile app isn’t the right path for every company, but if it’s something you’re considering, check the following questions before you invest.

Android, HTML5 or iOS?

No matter what platform you choose, it’s important not to take on too much too soon, regardless of your technical skill level. There are a lot of different solutions for app development. Keep it simple and work on it. Once you’ve made the decision to develop an app and figured out your end-goal for it, determine what platform you want to use. When businesses choose to create an app for only Android or iOS, they end up missing half the market, but building an app on both major platforms requires two different sets of technical skills. While an app creator can make it much easier to develop an app on multiple platforms, including Windows Phone and Blackberry, maintaining a multiplatform presence will end up costing you more. HTML5 Web-based apps may not be as visible as those in major platform app stores, but they are compatible on mobile browsers of any operating system, as well as desktop browsers.

Make an own app, or become part of an existing?

If you want to create your own native app, make sure you have a plan to continually update and work on it. Don’t underestimate the ongoing maintenance. Constantly engage with the app, and as you’re planning it in the first place, think about what you want to add over time.

Many businesses begin the app development process without considering the amount of time and money they will need to invest in the process. Becoming part of an existing app for example, a directory-type app that lists businesses in your industry  can be an easier, less expensive way to claim your segment of the mobile market. The app creator can do the heavy technical work while also providing you with the opportunity to connect with its larger network of users.

What do you want to gain from your business app?

Is it to bring people into your store or to get them to visit your website?  Many businesses waste a lot of resources because they think people will just come to their app. It’s trendy to say that you have a mobile app, but if your goal is just to have that mobile presence, you’ll create something that no one will ever see. Small businesses should set a clear goal to focus on before beginning app development. Having a mobile presence is more or less essential for business success in today’s world. Whether you just have a mobile-optimized website, or a full-scale dedicated mobile application for your business, your customers should be able to easily find you wherever they are, from any device.

Posted in Best Practices for Merchants, e-commerce & m-commerce, Financial Services, Mobile Payments, Mobile Point of Sale, Smartphone Tagged with: Android, android or ios, app, app development, blackberry, business, device, html5, iOS, mobile, mobile application, mobile browsers, mobile presence, mobile strategy, mobile-optimized website, multiplatform, pockets, Smartphones, tablets, web-based apps, windows phone