Have you ever purchased something using your mobile phone or tablet? If not, you will surely do so in the near future. Mobile Payment is about to reach its tipping point of rapid growth, just like what mobile internet usage had a little while back. For merchants who run online platforms and e-commerce shops, allowing customers to pay from the mobile is no longer a “nice to have” but has now become an essential part of the business.
Regardless whether you run an e-commerce shop or any other online platform, it is very clear that your customers expect to have a reasonable and pleasant user experience on their mobile platforms (smartphones, tablets etc). However, today more than ever, customers also expect to maximize its use and be able to complete payment transactions via their mobile devices; and this is where Mobile Payment kicks in.
We gathered the top things you need to know about Mobile Payment. You might as well consider this as your “Mobile Payment for Dummies” guide.
- 50 Shades of Payment
Confused about the many different flavors of mobile payments? Mobile Payment is indeed a broad term comprising wide range of services that can be summarized in five groups namely:
Mobile Web and In-app Payment: The consumer uses web payment pages displayed on the mobile or payment pages that are part of the application to make a payment. The use of a credit/debit card or a pre-registration at an online payment solution requires integration to payment gateway just like in a desktop environment. This is the common practice to pay for products and services.
Mobile Wallet: It is exactly what its words suggest – it is a way to store personal information, such as payment card details (channeling your good old leather wallet) and the ability to pay for goods and services through your smartphone. It is another form of cashless payment, like credit cards and cheques, except that that it is all performed through a smartphone. Mobile Wallet is also often referred to as the usage of NFC technology such as in Google Wallet.
Mobile As Point Of Sale: This is employed with a use of a card reader and an application that is plugged into a phone which instantly turns the mobile device into a cash register. Square is a good example for this service.
Direct Mobile Carrier Payment: Utilizing mobile carrier billing to perform payments. This is mainly used for buying digital content such as games, ringtones and other content services.
Closed Loop Mobile Payment: This is where merchants build and maintain their own mobile wallets. Starbucks for example, is at the forefront of this trend. Their mobile payment system allows their customers to pay via the Starbucks app on their mobile phones. No cash needed and data says 10% of US in-store purchasers are actually using the app.
- (screen) Size Matters
For consumers, making a payment on a mobile device has traditionally been cumbersome. More than 23% of cart abandonment on mobile is attributable to clunky and un-optimized payment pages. A good point to ponder for businesses, that by ensuring professionally optimized mobile payment pages, merchants can increase the success rate significantly. Above all, merchants should always avoid copying the desktop payment experience into the mobile environment. Bear in mind, that the ease of use required by desktops vis-à-vis mobile devices are two separate stories.
- Is Mobile Payment Less Secure?
It’s time to bust the myth and change your perspective. Let it be known that the answer is NO. Mobile Payment is not less secured and in fact, even more secured than traditional desktop payment. Mobile devices have security features that far eclipse those of their non-mobile counterparts. Among the reasons mobile payment is more secured are:
Application Provenance – Applications must be signed by their creator. For example, Apple (iOS) only permits applications onto the device that are signed by an Apple-issued digital certificate.
Application Isolation – One application cannot access or negatively impact another application or its data.
Encryption – By default, mobile systems support the encrypting file system. Needless to say that all data and applications on the mobile device are all encrypted to start with. However, you can’t say the same about most desktops
- Mobile Web Payment Versus In-App Payment
Mobile Web Payment refers to a payment page that is hosted remotely, similar to the payment experience on a desktop, while Mobile In-App payment is a payment module embedded within an application. Take for example, an app can be downloaded onto the device for free, but specific content or capabilities are then charged should the user decides to access other parts of the said app.
- Tablet Users Spend More Money
Anew report from Adobe Digital Marketing Insights suggests that tablet users spend over 50% more per purchase at online retailers when compared with smartphone visitors, and 20% more when compared with traditional laptop and desktop visitors. At this point, let the numbers do the talking and consider this as you grow your businesses.
- Do I Need Mobile Payment?
Quite simply – yes, because your customers are already mobile, and the sheer number of your customers using mobile phones to access your website are increasing by the day. “By 2015, more people will use their mobile phones than PC’s to get online.” Yes, you read that correctly, more customers and potential customers will be accessing YOUR site from their mobile phones than their desktops. With the proper payment solution, you ensure high conversion of potential customers into paying customers.
#awepay #onlinepayments #mobilepayments #potentialcustomers #apppayment #secure #50shadesofpayment #mobilewallet #wallet #Ewallet #paymentwallet