Business Payments In 2024: Going Mobile

Mobile phones are no longer used just for communication. From gaming to GPS, an alarm clock, to a meditation app, we rely on our smartphones for everything under the sun. We shop online and even make business payments from our mobile devices. 

We make payments when we shop from a marketplace, an eCommerce website, or within apps. We send and receive payments via our smartphones. We buy tangible products or intangible services via money we never see physically. We know we have it in our bank accounts, credit and debit cards, or digital wallets, but we rarely get a glimpse of it when making online purchases. We even make online payments for the stuff we buy offline.

Of course, with all these said, one must look at the pros of online payments. For one, it is fast. Gone are those days when one would go to the bank (within a fixed time) or withdraw money from the ATM (if there was cash available), buy a product (when the store remained open), pay in cash, count the change and return home with the product.

Now all these can be done with a few clicks on a mobile phone, anytime, anywhere. eCommerce stores are open 24/7; payments can be made anytime, and one need not always sit in front of a personal computer. The concept of mobile payments has truly made business payments easier. 

Benefits of Mobile Business Payments

1. Convenience 

Post the covid pandemic, India has witnessed a rise in mobile business payments compared to other modes. It takes less time to pull your phone out of your pocket than to reach your purse or wallet. People are already using smartphones for their daily tasks, so transacting business payments are more convenient than ever before.

2. Extra Security

With mobile payment options, one need not carry their card or cash around all the time with them. This means that those payment options are less likely to be lost or stolen. With digital payments, authentication factors like biometric and facial recognition, pins and patterns make it more secure. One can customise the security and take it up another notch, ensuring that payments are not fraudulent.

3. Fully Digitalised

Digital wallets integrate easily with the apps on our smartphones to give customers a detailed overview of their spending, where they spend and how often. It also helps reduce paper waste and business costs and keeps track of the user’s spending.

4. Speed

Mobile business payments are fast. When a person initiates a transaction via cash or card, a mobile transaction is already completed. Mobile payments are quicker, more user-friendly, and help businesses expedite transactions.

Types of Mobile Payment Systems

Smartphones have made it easier for businesses to conduct transactions faster, better and more securely. There are several ways in which smartphones can send or receive business payments. Let us have a look at those:

• Mobile Browser Based Payments

This mode of payment allows businesses or users to make CNP (card not present) purchases with a debit or credit card on a smartphone. Similar to desktop-based eCommerce shopping, this mode also allows users to make payments using their banking information via Automated Clearing House (ACH) payments. Customers can visit the website on their mobile phones, add the products to the shopping cart, enter their payment details, and make the payment transaction to complete the purchase. 

• In-app Mobile Payments

Customers conduct similar transactions with in-app mobile business payments but in a mobile app instead of a web browser. In-app mobile payments offer a closed ecosystem – meaning that there are limited products and services the app can offer. Users must register their debit, credit card or bank details once to pay the bills or make a transaction with a few clicks.

• Wireless Card Readers

It is great when businesses use innovative technology to solve daily problems. With the help of an add-on credit card reader, businesses can turn their smartphones into point-of-sale machines for on-the-go credit card acceptance. These wireless card readers use WiFi and allow users to make business payments via a swipe, dip or tap and help accept payments on the spot without any hassles.

• Mobile Wallets

Technologies like Bluetooth and NFC have allowed businesses and consumers to authorise transactions without physically swiping or dipping their cards. Now, a user can simply wave their smartphone and complete a transaction. Mobile wallets use contactless payments to make faster, more secure transactions from one account to another. Mobile wallets are not restricted to just store payments. It can be used anywhere the particular wallet or its app is accepted.

Summary

In this age of digitalisation, everything is faster, and so are business payments. Gone are the days when a business would wait for long periods to receive or send out payments. Customers now pay instantly and expect businesses to refund quickly in case of a dispute. To tackle this, business payments have gone mobile. Digital payment methods have proven to be faster, more secure and effective.