Five Reasons to Use Your Smartphone as a Credit Card Reader

Years ago, the term “credit card reader” was not used very loosely. Either you had a machine that allowed you to take an imprint of a customer’s credit card or you had a terminal that was exclusively designed for scanning credit cards and processing payments. Nowadays, if you need a credit card reader, here are several reasons why you should simply use your smartphone.

You More Than Like Already Have One

Instead of searching the market for a brand new credit card terminal or processing machine for your business, chances are that you already have a smartphone compatible with most mobile POS software and mobile credit card reading equipment.

Nearly 60 percent of American adults currently own a smartphone, according to Pew Internet Research. The same study shows that more than 40 percent of American adults own a mobile tablet. Therefore, regardless of the mobile device that you use, you will not have to worry about spending a considerable amount of time ordering equipment and waiting for it to arrive. Portability itself is an additional benefit to taken into consideration, especially since you more than likely already take this device with you wherever you go.

Save a Substantial Amount of Money

Using your smartphone as a credit card reader can save you a substantial amount of money – both upfront and in the long run. In today’s market, the average credit card processing machine or terminal can cost a business owner hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

Not only would you have to pay the one-time, short-term expenses associated with the initial purchase but you could also be responsible for recurring licensing fees and service charges over time. Using your smartphone will save a lot of money – especially if you decide to use the phone that you already own. In most cases, you will be able to use your existing data plan for the Internet and will only have to pay minimal processing fees depending on the merchant that you use.

Save a Substantial Amount of Time

You might be surprised to find out just how much time you can save by using your smartphone as a credit card reader. If you have a mobile business, you won’t have to worry about making any unnecessary trips back to the office just to process your payments. You can take care of it wherever you are as long as you are able to gain access to a stable Internet connection or mobile POS software, such as a package offered by Shopify.

Since most credit card readers designed for these mobile devices work as quickly and efficiently as any other application, you can potentially process and finalize your payments within a fraction of the time that you would have spent even with the most cutting-edge credit card terminal.

Simple to Use without Any Complications

Another reason why you should consider using your smartphone or even your tablet as a credit card reader is because of how simple it is for you to use in general. Keep in mind that a substantial amount of time can be spent rather easily when you have no idea how to use a piece of equipment or newly purchased device. Setting up, programming and learning how to operate a credit card terminal is actually a lot more difficult than it may seem for most business owners – especially if you have a limited amount of experience in this regard.

Therefore, the best approach to take would be for you to use a device with which you are already familiar (your smartphone) along with a simplistic type of software that you already use (a mobile application.) You might decide to use a peripheral device connected to your smartphone as the credit card scanner or you can even enter the credit card information into an on-screen interface. Regardless of which path you choose, knowing that you won’t have to worry about interrupting the flow of your business with unnecessary downtime due to technical difficulties should be viewed as a major selling point.

Very Few Customers Still Use Cash

Another reason to take into consideration is the simple fact that most customers no longer use cash to pay for goods and services. Your market does not matter and neither does the type of products or services you offer.

More and more people are finding credit and debit cards the more convenient payment option. It is actually estimated that only 23 percent of point-of-sale purchases will be paid in cash by 2017, according to Business News Daily. As the demand for cash transactions declines, the demand for credit cards seems to be increasing at an exponential rate. The average number of credit cards possessed by consumers in 2012 was close to two, according to CreditCards.com. Using your smartphone as a credit card processing device will help you to save money and make more money with an increase in sales.