Whether it's buying morning coffee, getting a haircut or purchasing movie tickets, consumers want greater flexibility in paying for goods and services. The number of credit and debit card transactions continues to increase, however, payment with a physical card may soon be a thing of the past. In a connected world where smartphone and tablet usage continues to rise, this presents a shift in the way traditional payments are being accepted.
According to Pivotal Payments, one of Canada's leading payment processing companies, businesses both big and small can have a competitive edge by offering mobile payment options that are flexible and cater to their customers' changing needs.
"We've seen rapid growth of mobile payment applications due to the solution's affordability, security and universality," said Shaun McDonald, Vice President, Product and Project Management of Pivotal Payments. "Mobile payments allow merchants traditionally unwilling to accept credit cards to expand their payment options."
With the use of a small card reader, merchants owning an iPhone, Android or BlackBerry device can easily accept credit cards at a relatively low cost. Some see this as a stop-gap between the use of physical credit cards and mobile wallets.
In the case of mobile wallets, a consumer's own smartphone becomes the payment source, with an application that stores their credit card information. As consumer behaviour evolves and accepts these new technologies, it will usher in a new era of payment processing where an actual credit card may not necessarily be required to make what we now consider a credit card purchase.
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