6 Mobile Payment Processing Tips to Win Mobile Commerce (+ Tools You Should Use)
Mobile Money Matters: Setting up your ecommerce store for mobile payment processing is crucial for revenue, as it's not an optional exercise in today's online shopping landscape.
On-the-Go is the Way to Go: Mobile phones are dominating the ecommerce scene, accounting for over 75% of online store visits and approximately two-thirds of ecommerce orders, making a mobile-first approach essential.
Living in the Past Loses Cash: Focusing solely on desktop-based ecommerce is outdated and could result in significant revenue loss, given the overwhelming preference for mobile shopping among consumers.
$7 Trillion Reasons to Adapt: With ecommerce sales projected to hit nearly $7 trillion worldwide by 2024, and mobile expected to account for two-thirds, adapting to mobile shopping preferences is critical.
Setting up your ecommerce store for mobile payment processing is not optional. This isn’t just some little exercise—it’s your source of revenue!
People are increasingly shopping on the go, with mobile phones accounting for over 75% of online store visits and about two-thirds of ecommerce orders.
If you are focusing on desktop, you are living in the past and missing out on lots of cash.
With total ecommerce sales predicted to reach nearly $7 trillion worldwide in 2024, and mobile making up possibly two-thirds of that, you don’t want to ignore your online customer’s shopping habits.
So, in this post, we’ll dig into the tips and tools you need to create a great mobile checkout experience that not only serves your shoppers, but wows them.
What is Mobile Payment Processing?
Mobile payment processing is the technology that allows customers to pay for products on services online or in-person with their mobile device (yes, even tablets).
This tech is crucial for merchants, as it’s a convenient and secure way for customers to buy from anywhere (like someone else’s store!).
Mobile payments should feel quick and seamless without any interruptions marring the customer experience.
There’s no longer a need to carry around cash or scramble around for loose change. Users can purchase at any point of the day from your online store or physical location, making mobile the most convenient and flexible form of online payment.
In-store mobile payments and mobile point of sale systems
While online payments are a significant aspect of mobile payment processing, the rise of mobile technology has also revolutionized in-store transactions.
There are many types of payments for mobile available nowadays.
There are credit card processors like Square or Stripe and mobile wallets like Google Pay that make it easy for small businesses to accept near field communication (NFC) contactless payments without investing in pricey mobile POS system (mPOS) hardware.
With an mPOS solution, merchants can turn their smartphones or tablets into portable virtual terminals, enabling them to process digital wallet and credit card payments anywhere.
This flexibility not only enhances the customer experience but also opens up new revenue streams, such as pop-up shops, events, and on-site services.
When evaluating mPOS systems, consider factors like hardware compatibility (e.g., mobile credit card readers, receipt printers), inventory management capabilities, and integration with your existing systems.
Additionally, ensure the solution supports various payment methods popular among your target audience, such as NFC-enabled contactless payments or mobile wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay.
By embracing in-store mobile payments and mPOS systems, businesses can provide a seamless and convenient payment experience, whether customers are shopping online or in-person.
6 Mobile Payment Processing Tips For The Best Mobile Shopping Experiences
Knowing how important it is (I hope that’s been hammered home by now), let’s get into a few big tips for making mobile shopping great for your store.
1. Understand your customer’s mobile experience
Before you start optimizing your mobile payment experience, you need to understand how your customers navigate your store on mobile.
So, analyze Google Analytics data to uncover mobile visitor behavior insights, like:
- The number of mobile visitors successfully completed purchases
- The time it takes mobile users to get through the checkout process
Most ecommerce customers want to be able to check out in 4 minutes or less, with mobile users demanding even faster experiences.
If your website is lagging, glitchy, or difficult to navigate on small screens, impatient buyers may abandon their carts and seek out competitors with smoother mobile experiences.
To evaluate your mobile user experience, enlist the help of family and friends.
Have them attempt a purchase on your website using their mobile devices and provide feedback on aspects like site speed, design layout, and checkout process accessibility.
Additionally, analyze your customers' preferred payment methods.
Do they favor credit cards, debit cards, or alternative options like digital wallets? Understanding their preferences will guide your selection of the most suitable mobile payment processing platform.
By deeply understanding your customers' mobile habits and pain points, you'll be better equipped to optimize their shopping experience, streamlining the path to purchase and boosting conversions.
2. Seek recommendations from fellow ecommerce merchants
When evaluating mobile payment processing solutions, don't go it alone.
Leverage the collective wisdom of fellow ecommerce merchants who have first-hand experience with various platforms. Reach out to business owners within your network, join relevant online forums and Facebook groups, and actively seek recommendations.
Gathering insights from those who have walked the path before you can shed light on crucial factors such as:
- Pricing structures and hidden processing fees
- Integration with your existing ecommerce platform
- Customer support responsiveness and quality
- Ease of setup and ongoing management
Additionally, fellow merchants may share valuable tips and best practices for optimizing the mobile payment experience, streamlining checkout flows, and boosting conversion rates.
By tapping into this wealth of knowledge, you can make an informed decision that aligns with your business needs and sets you up for success in the mobile payment processing arena.
3. Prioritize security and data protection
When processing mobile payments, ensuring the security of sensitive customer information should be your utmost priority.
Don't hesitate to thoroughly vet potential payment service providers by asking probing questions about their security measures and track records.
Key areas to explore include:
- The secure network used during ecommerce payment processing
- How customer data like credit card and payment information is used, stored, and protected
- Any past security breaches or incidents, and the measures taken to resolve and prevent future occurrences
Furthermore, familiarize yourself with industry standards and regulations, such as PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard), and ensure that your chosen mobile payment processing solution is fully compliant.
PCI compliance is a merchant’s responsibility!
By prioritizing security and data protection, you can build trust with your customers, safeguard their sensitive information, and mitigate the risks of costly data breaches or fraudulent activities.
4. Choose a payment processor tailored to your needs
While recommendations from fellow merchants can provide valuable insights, it's crucial to remember that every business has its own unique requirements.
A mobile payment processing tool that works wonders for others in your niche may not necessarily be the best fit for your specific needs and budget.
When evaluating potential platforms, consider the following factors:
- Affordability: Carefully review the pricing structure, including monthly fees, transaction fees, and any potential hidden costs. Ensure that the solution aligns with your budget and long-term financial sustainability.
- Integration compatibility: Seamless integration with your existing ecommerce platform, inventory management system, and other business applications is essential. Avoid the frustration of investing in a solution that doesn't sync seamlessly with your tech stack.
- Customer support: In the busy world of ecommerce, hiccups and issues are bound to occur. Prioritize solutions that offer reliable and responsive customer support. During the evaluation process, inquire about their support channels, response times, and track record in resolving issues promptly.
These tools aren’t a one-size-fits-all choice.
Take the time to understand your unique business requirements, and choose a platform that aligns with your goals, budget, and existing tech ecosystem.
This tailored approach will ensure a smooth integration, efficient operations, and a seamless payment experience for your customers.
5. Set up your merchant account and payment gateway
Once you've found a reliable mobile payment processing partner, you’ll need to set up your merchant account (yay!)—the central hub for managing all your payment processing needs.
During the setup phase, your provider will guide you through the process of configuring the various payment options your customers can use to complete their purchases.
A payment gateway acts as the bridge between your checkout page and the payment network via API, enabling secure transmission of transaction data.
Here are some key considerations during this stage:
- Accepted payment methods: Ensure you offer the most common forms of payment, such as major credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express) and digital wallets, catering to the preferences of your target audience.
- Currency support: Determine the currencies you need to accept based on your customer base's geographic distribution. If you primarily serve North American customers, accepting USD and CAD may suffice. However, if you have a global customer base, you'll need to support multiple currencies and understand the tax implications for each region.
- Behind the scenes: While the checkout process appears seamless to customers, a complex network of communication occurs behind the scenes. When a customer initiates a purchase, card information is transmitted between the customer, merchant, payment processor, merchant account, customer's bank, and the merchant's bank account. This intricate process ensures secure and fraud-free transactions while verifying the availability of funds.
By carefully configuring your merchant account and payment gateway, you establish a robust foundation for processing mobile payments securely and efficiently.
This setup phase lays the groundwork for a seamless customer experience and successful integration of mobile payments into your ecommerce operations.
6. Monitor key metrics and customer behavior
After setting up your mobile payment processing platform, it's crucial to analyze key metrics and customer behavior to ensure a seamless and optimized experience.
This data-driven approach will help you identify areas for improvement and tailor your strategies to meet your customers' preferences and needs.
Start by closely monitoring the following key metrics:
- Payment method preferences: While you may have anticipated a particular payment method or mobile payment app to be the most popular, your customers' behavior might surprise you (maybe you thought it was Paypal but it’s actually Venmo. What? Shocking! But the analytics don’t lie). Analyze which options (e.g., PayPal, Venmo, credit cards) are most favored and which ones are least utilized.
- Device demographics: You can also see what mobile devices your customers are using (iOS vs Android, for instance), which can tell you how important certain digital wallet options are for your audience, be it Apple Pay or Google Pay. Plus, you’ll see the sliver of users that buy everything from their iPad.
- Transaction speed: Track the average time it takes for customers to complete their mobile credit card transactions. A smooth and efficient checkout process is essential for minimizing cart abandonment and maximizing conversions.
- Checkout flow analysis: Observe how customers navigate through your mobile checkout flow. Are there any points of friction or confusion? Consider conducting trial runs with family and friends to identify potential pain points before rolling out changes to your entire customer base.
Most merchant services providers offer reporting and analytics tools that provide real-time insights into customer behavior, processed payments, and potential chargebacks.
Leverage these resources to gain a comprehensive understanding of your mobile payment performance.
By continuously monitoring and analyzing these key metrics, you can make data-driven decisions to refine your mobile payment processing strategies.
What Mobile Payment Solutions Should You Use?
The best tools for taking mobile payments depends on your store, the tech you use, whether you have a brick-and-mortar, and on and on.
Knowing that, we’ve put together a guide on the best mobile payment solutions, which gets into more of the details and functionality for each one.
Go ahead and look at the full post linked above, but here’s a peek at our top ten picks for this type of tool:
Speedy Payments Mean More Return Customers
The last thing you want is to increase cart abandonment due to a poor mobile payment experience.
As you grow and scale, studying transaction speed, optimizing checkout flows, and finding reliable payment processors will be key to capturing more sales and retaining customers on mobile.
We covered understanding your mobile customers' habits, prioritizing security solutions, tailoring your platform choice, and continuously optimizing based on data.
Implement these strategies, and you'll transform mobile credit card processing from a friction point into a competitive advantage.
Delighting customers with a seamless checkout experience will make those mobile conversions soar. It's all within reach, friend!
For more tips and insights to give your ecommerce business an edge, subscribe to The Ecomm Manager newsletter today.
Mobile Payment Processing FAQs
As we like to do, we’ll cover loose thread topics in a few FAQs here to put a bow on this topic.
What are some of the benefits of offering mobile payment options?
There are several benefits to offering mobile payment options:
- Increased convenience: Customers can pay for your products or services quickly and easily from their smartphones.
- Reduced cart abandonment: A smooth mobile checkout process can help to reduce the number of customers who abandon their carts before completing a purchase.
- Improved customer experience: Offering a variety of payment options shows customers that you care about their convenience and security.
- Increased sales: By making it easier for customers to pay, you can potentially increase your sales.
Are there any security risks associated with mobile payments?
Yes, there are potential security risks associated with mobile payments, but these can be mitigated by choosing a reputable mobile payment processor that prioritizes data security. Here are some things to look for:
- PCI DSS compliance: Ensures the processor adheres to strict industry standards for protecting customer data.
- Secure network infrastructure: Protects sensitive information during transactions.
- Data encryption: Scrambles data to prevent unauthorized access.
- Fraud prevention measures: These can include things like tokenization (replacing card numbers with unique identifiers) and monitoring for suspicious activity.
Are there any emerging mobile payment trends I should be aware of?
Yes, the mobile payment landscape is constantly evolving. Here are a few trends to watch:
- Contactless payments: These allow customers to pay by tapping their phone or wearable device on a reader, and are becoming increasingly popular.
- Biometric authentication: Fingerprint or facial recognition technology can be used for secure mobile payments.
- Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) options: These allow customers to split the cost of a purchase into installments, often integrated with mobile wallets.
