Business, Enterprise, Startup
Mobile POS (Point of Sale)
Point of Sales – Fair payments with POS
from the cafeteria to main street shops, for the charities or businesses
INTRODUCTION
Nowadays accepting card payments is a focal point of any retail or hospitality business.
How we’ll handle the customer needs with confidence and trust?
Everywhere everyone is cashless and more often, contactless. A valid statement for any entity which is involved in a financial transaction operation.
When we talk about taking payments we are entering a complex financial domain where solutions should accommodate business functions. Point of Sales is one entry point – of many – which a business can have. In many cases, POS (Point Of Sales) comes as a software system which can be acquired and integrates with existing systems/business components like WMS (Warehouse Management System), IS (Inventory Systems) or online websites. Still, startups or small business entities will not afford a full flagged POS system – due solution pricing or budget constraints – and therefore solutions are in place for any budget, company or charity. This will enable quick, reliable and affordable payments with a clear and simple transaction management accountability – from an accounting point of view, including reconciliations and much more.
I will expose some of the most used card payment mechanisms – including hardware and software components – which make them extremely attractive for the small and medium businesses where small initial setup costs are a must and no monthly rental fees should be included with no minimum transaction volumes required.
HYPOTHESIS
For us to understand the advantages offered by the solutions we’ll need to consider a few scenarios which are not necessary hypothetical:
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- Cafeterias for small businesses, clubs, and other entities.
- Event sales – sales of products on events like shows, competitions, fun fairs, charity sales, and other small activities.
- Small shops.
- Small Traders.
The sales, in our case, are evolving around small and medium businesses, however, this can be extended to independent traders or charities.
Imagine you are a charity and you run a small cafeteria service where you’ll need to be mobile. What if you would like to offer your services to your faithful members on an event, a game or competition without the hassle of cash payments, then card payments can work in your advantage. What if you would like to have a contactless option attached? Most of us will fancy a “tap” on a device. What if you want a quick and painless payment for you and your customer?
If you would like to know the answer to those questions and much more than continue reading.
SOLUTIONS
The answers to your questions reside in the next 4 possible options:
Before dive in, I would like to add that all presented solutions come with a backend system which allows you to manage your transactions: for free. Also all of the providers – in our case acquirer – will require a signup and login which will facilitate the payment process.
Now is about time to dissect all those options we have.
iZettle
A Nordic company founded in 2010, with a team which wants to change the world by helping small business to succeed in the big world of enterprises. Founded in Stockholm they revolutionized mobile payment by bringing into the world the first mini chip card reader and software for mobile devices. They have evolved and nowadays are offering an e-commerce platform, which does include payments, for business with distribution across Europe and Latin America.
If you want to find more just browse their website
Solution
Important to know, they offer a simple solution to a complex business process – taking payments – which includes just 2 components:
- Card reader
- Mobile app
There is no any monthly fee or minimum sales volume and it comes with a large selection of accepted cards including American Express, Union Pay or JCB. Of course, Visa, Visa Electron and VPay, along with Mastercard and Maestro are the defaults card accepted.
There is a transaction fee of 1.75% and the card reader is £19 excluding VAT at the time of writing this report. On the top of it, you can have a contactless option where bank account settlement is between 1 to 3 business days. Do you want to have tipping then there is an option for that?
When comes to accounting, the backend system integrates with Xero or Debitoor or you can export your data for reconciliation in CVS or Excel.
How does it work
- You’ll need to enter the sales amount in the POS application – free download for mobile or using the online web app.
- Use the card reader to insert the credit card or let the customer “tap” the reader
- For non-contactless payment let the customer enter their pin number
- Print a receipt or send it via email or SMS.
Their motto is: Tap, insert and sell. A very good support team with great support for a large set of accessories like receipt printers, cash drawers, and barcode scanners.
SumUp
A leading mobile POS since 2012, with expansion in 31 countries including Europe, the US, and South America. With a team which proud themselves of doing things differently, with an attitude toward offering the best payment value and service, SumUp has the flavor of reliable German software engineering.
Solution
Sumup comes with 2 key components hardware and software:
- Card reader
- Mobile application
They have a better transaction fee of 1.69% and no monthly fee or minimum sales volume. A very strong range of accepted cards as Visa, MasterCard, Dinner Club International or Discover.
When it comes to contactless, Apple Pay and Google Pay come as optional to your card reader. Bank account settlement is between 2 to 3 business days. Unfortunately, there is no option for tipping but can be used abroad – which means that you can take your card reader to international events and take payments. However, you should notify SumUp before, for acknowledgment.
How does it work
SumUp card reader is called Air Card Reader which means is cordless and needs a Bluetooth setup in advance. Setting up the card reader is effortless and once connected will connect you your online SumUp account.
How you will take payments
- Enter sales amount in your POS app and press charge
- Tap the card or insert the card in the dedicated slot
- The client will authorize the payment (by PIN for example)
- A payment message will be displayed
They also have very extensive documentation and how to’s section which can be beneficial for any business member. If you would like to integrate the payment solution into your dedicated web platform they offer also an eCom Check API for extending the omnichannel presence of your business. More info about SumUp you can find here.
PayPal Here
PayPal, the biggest player on the market comes with a card reader option for POS. The main advantage of PayPal is the centralization of all your payment services in one place: online, invoice, phone and face-to-face payments. Once accustomed with PayPal backend there is no need for any extra training to extend your services for POS.
Solution
PayPal Here does come with the same two main components:
- Card reader
- Mobile application
The PayPal card reader needs to be pair via Bluetooth however the PayPal support is unbeatable in case there are any difficulties when taking payments. Transaction fees are volume based and they start at 2.75% and will be reduced with the number of sales per month. Therefore is not a very attractive option for any of the small or medium businesses.
One of the main advantages is the bank payout which is instant and then manual transfer to bank account.
How does it work
- Enter sales amount in your POS app and press charge
- Tap the card or insert the card in the dedicated slot
- The client will authorize the payment (by PIN for example)
- A payment message will be displayed and send a receipt if required.
Getting started is easy from Signup to PayPal Here services, ordering the card reader and backend transaction management. The card reader works with iOS and Android devices still, there is a recommended requirement for both platforms from PayPal.
The POS Application does have an option for inventory management, user roles, and reporting. Accessories are available for making the POS experience painless for any of your staff. Do you want more details this is the place!
CONCLUSION
Starting taking payment can be a tedious job if you follow the traditional path of acquiring the service from a bank. However, with the new players on the market, is expected to take payments within 15 minutes from the card reader installation (PayPal)
It is worth mentioning that all presented payment acquirers have a base set of services which come for free like Administration backend. It is very good and hassle-free for any small business. Still, if you evolve quickly Pro solutions are offered by all the presented providers. All those Pro solutions are not free of charge. For the card readers is a price, which does look like is the same across all the presented service providers.
You‘ll be able to choose the solution based on the fees percentages and how competitive they are at the servicing level. I do believe there will be no wrong decision since most of them they provide similar options and in some case more refinement on the transaction management level.
Accounting, reconciliation mechanisms and tools are offered by all presented providers with the options, for some of them, to integrate online Saas solutions like Xero.
All the presented provider will let open your options to expand free of any constraints, without compromising your budget.
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