Technology can be viewed as a gift or curse, depending how you look at it. Today, most businesses see that they need to adapt to changing times and implement technology into their day to day business to remain competitive. The Merchant Services Industry cannot avoid technology. We use it, need it and couldn’t exist without it.
Credit Card Processing is something 99.9% of all business owners need if they wish to remain profitable. While most businesses are typical retail establishments which allow customers to pay via credit card in the store, there are an increasing number of mobile businesses that require these same services.
Everyday, more and more people are giving up their cell phones for PDA devices. Credit Card processing companies offer traditional Retail Processing, Mail Order / Telephone Order, E-Commerce processing for web based businesses and even portable wireless terminals for business owners who take their business on the road. Not surprisingly, mobile processing is now available on your PDA device as well.
Whether you have an iPhone, a Blackberry, or a Droid there is a mobile processing solution to fit your needs. Every ‘App’ or Mobile Processing Solution allows you to key your transactions, but due to our current economy every business owner is also trying to operate more cost efficiently. Mobile business owners will find the greatest savings when they connect card reader to their phone, either wirelessly or by through the headphone jack.
By processing transactions via card swipe rather than keying them, you not only save money on downgrades but also reduce your risk of chargebacks (See Credit Card Processing blog entry for description). Depending on which phone you have and which ‘App’ you choose there are additional features which are beneficial. iPhone, Droid and some Blackberry users (only on touch screen phones) can utilize the signature capture feature allowing the consumer to sign his or her sales receipt. If your phone has a built in camera, you could even take a picture of your customer, utilizing an additional security measure to reduce your risk of chargebacks.
After processing each transaction merchants can email the sales receipt to their customers as well as build and maintain a database of their customer’s information. Additionally, business owners have secure login credentials to their gateway so that, if needed, they could retrieve sales slips at a later date.
Contact us at The Hope Process to see which ‘App’ and gateway we recommend for your phone or to simply to obtain more information on rates, fees and how to get started.
