mobile payment apps have really made life easy especially for businesses and consumers who shop online.
We all know that payments/ transactions are what make a business complete and so if you’re doing business, you will know the truth behind the statement to be 99.9% accurate. In the digital or internet space when it comes to receiving payments you will need gateways by which you receive money from your customers in exchange for goods and services you provide.
There are numerous payment gateways on the internet you can choose to transact with, for easy convenience these payment gateways made provision for mobile apps – making it easy for you to process payments. Thus the aim of this article is to look at the best mobile payment apps but before that, it’s wise to consider the meaning of mobile payment apps, how it works, and a few examples of mobile payment apps for small businesses.
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What is Mobile Payment Apps?
Mobile payment apps are also referred to as Digital Wallets and below is how it works.
The app is linked to a bank account where the money is, the linked account can be a credit card, debit card which is connected to a bank account which is then used for transactions. There are two reasons why a customer uses mobile payment apps, one of which is the speed of payments and the other is the ease of use.
When you make use of mobile apps for payment, you will cut off every unnecessary stress of always going to a bank or an ATM stand each time you want to send or receive money.
The use of mobile payment apps provides you with an extra layer of security, plus, your credit card or bank account information is not stored on a website. every piece of information that’s you provide or link to the app including your credit card number is fully encrypted. According to statistics, there are more consumers who have a Smartphone (iPhone or Android) with internet access. this makes the use of mobile payment apps very convenient.
How do Mobile Payment Apps Work?
You as a customer who uses a Smartphone or computer will have to download a payment app and link the app to the customer’s preferred source, typically a credit card, to send money. But, the source can be a credit card, debit card, or bank account. Once the information is set up, the customer uses the app for payment, which can be online or point of sale contactless payments.
A company, on the other hand, can accept payments by installing the same app or a different mobile payments app on a business computer or Smartphone. Some apps are specific to each other, that is, consumer to merchant and merchant to consumer. Other business payment apps accept multiple types of consumer payment apps. Some only work between types of devices. For example, Apple Pay only works between Apple devices, such as an Apple phone, for example. The fee scale can range from zero to about 3%. Some have payment limits.
TYPES OF MOBILE PAYMENT APPS
1. PayPal
How Does PayPal Work?
PayPal offers payment services and solutions for both individuals and businesses and is one of the best mobile payment apps. The company allows individual consumers to shop, make payments, and transfer money with relative ease. A customer needs an email address to sign up for an account and must provide a credit card, debit card, or bank account to complete the setup. PayPal verifies all the information to make sure the person setting up the account is the rightful owner before the service can be used.
Benefits of PayPal
Purchases made with a select few online retailers may include a discount from PayPal or a cashback offer of some sort. PayPal also offers its own credit card through Synchrony Bank. Approved applicants are supplied with MasterCards branded with the PayPal name.
The company also finances large purchases, extends lines of credit, and provides customers with debit MasterCards which use PayPal balances to pay for purchases in a brick-and-mortar store or to withdraw cash. With PayPal being so widely known, there are stores throughout the world that will accept PayPal payments for goods or services—some even accept contactless PayPal payments.
Supported Devices
Via App, online or contactless in person.
PayPal is seen as a top-notch mobile payment app. This is because it provides lots of options for consumers and company owners. also, it is accepted globally by millions of websites including giant sites like eBay, Zaful, Etsy, etc. Consumers can use PayPal to transfer money to friends or family with ease.
Amazingly, you can use your PayPal account via a payment card, such as a Visa or Mastercard linked to the account.
PayPal Pricing
The App is free to consumers. however, there is a charge of 2.9% plus 0.30 per sale
2. Venmo
Venmo is an American mobile payment app service founded in 2009 and acquired by
PayPal since 2012. Venmo was aimed at friends and family who wish to split bills,
e.g. for movies, dinner, rent, or event tickets.
Account-holders can transfer funds to others via a mobile phone app, both the sender and receiver must live in the United States. Here are statistics about the company. It handled $159 billion in transactions in 2020.
Venmo is actually an alternative for PayPal. It’s unique due to its social style platform. Merchants who accept Venmo set up a business profile. The content can include reviews, the best feature because consumers use reviews to make choices.
History of Venmo
“Venmo was founded by Andrew Kortina and Iqram Magdon-Ismail, who met as freshman roommates at the University of Pennsylvania. According to Kortina, the duo was initially inspired to create a transaction solution while, in the process of helping start a friend’s yogurt shop, they “realized how horrible traditional point of sales software was”.
At a local jazz show, Kortina and Magdon-Ismail conceived the idea of instantly buying an MP3 of the show via text message. Finally, the idea was cemented when
Magdon-Ismail forgot his wallet during a trip to visit Kortina.
The process of settling their debt was a considerable inconvenience, especially compared to the possibility of mobile phone-based transactions. Shortly after, they began working on a way to send money through mobile phones. Their original prototype sent money through text messages, but they eventually transitioned from text messages to a smartphone app”
Supported Devices
Via App, online or contactless in person.
Venmo Pricing
Venmo charges a 2.9% plus .30 fee per transaction.
3. Apple Pay
Apple Pay is a mobile payment app and digital wallet service by Apple Inc. that allows users to make payments in person, in iOS apps, and on the web using Safari. It is supported on the iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad, and Mac. It is not available on any client device that is not made and sold by Apple in particular, it cannot be used on any Android device, nor on any browser running on Windows
It was designed to move consumers away from physical wallets into a world where your debit and credit cards are on your iPhone or Apple Watch, allowing you to pay using your device instead of a card.
One of the reasons why consumers like to use Apple Pay is because they can receive or redeem rewards in a Wallet. If Apple Pay is not accepted at a company, the consumer can pay with a credit card that is linked to the consumer’s Apple Pay account. Users can opt to make monthly installments on a purchase, with zero percent financing.
Available Areas
Apple Pay is available in over 40 countries. These include the US, UK, Canada, Australia, the UAE, Russia, China, New Zealand, Singapore, Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong as well as numerous other countries.
Supported Devices
Works with an iPhone (with face or touch ID), Apple watch with a contactless reader. Can be used in Apps if Apple Pay is a payment app option.
Apple Pay Pricing
Apple Pay is linked to credit cards. The merchant is responsible for the fee charged which would be imposed on a credit card transaction.
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4. Google Pay
When you think of mobile payment apps, Google Pay is another great option. Just as in the case of PayPal and Venmo, Google Pay mobile app is the alternative for Apple pay, as this allows Android users to receive payments.
It can be used for online payments, contactless payments, and as in-app mobile payments. Merchants can download the app via the Google Play store to set up a Google Pay account. One of the best features is that Google Pay will accept payments from Android or Apple devices.
History
Originally it was launched as “Android Pay”, the service was released at Google
I/O 2015. Android Pay was a successor to and built on the base established by Google Wallet which was released in 2011. It also used technology from the carrier-backed Softcard.
Google had acquired its intellectual property in February 2015.
At launch, the service was compatible with 70% of Android devices and was accepted by over 700,000 merchants. Google Wallet still powered web-based Play Store purchases and some app-based peer-to-peer payments, for instance in Gmail.
In 2016, Google began a public trial in Silicon Valley of a related mobile app called Hands Free. In this system, the customer does not need to present a phone or card. Instead, a customer announces they wish to “pay with Google” and give their initials to the cashier, who verifies their identity with a photo previously uploaded to the system. The customer’s phone will only authorize payment if its geographic location system indicates it is near a participating store.
On September 18, 2017, Google launched a payments app in India known as Tez, utilizing the Unified Payments Interface (UPI). On August 28, 2018, Google rebranded Tez to Google Pay.
Supported Devices
- Works with Android phones which have an NFC (near field communication) chip.
- Also works with a tablet.
Google Pay Pricing
When a customer links a Google Pay account to a debit or credit card. Merchants are not charged for accepting Google Pay, that is, zero transaction cost.
5. Square Cash
Originally called square cash but now called cash app, is a mobile payment service developed by Block, Inc., that allows users to transfer money to one another (for a 1.5% fee for immediate transfer) using a mobile phone app. The service is available only in the United Kingdom and the United States.
In September 2021, the service reported 70 million annual transacting users and
$1.8 billion in gross profit.
About Cash App
Cash App came into existence by Square, Inc. formerly named Block, Inc. on October 15, 2013, under the name “Square Cash”.
In March 2015, Square introduced Square Cash for businesses. The aim of this was to allow individuals, organizations, and business owners to create a unique username to send and receive money, known as a $cashtag. Since then, the
$cashtag has become the most popular method for users to transfer money.
By January 2018, Cash App added bitcoin trading support.
In October 2019, Cash App introduced another support for stock trading to users in the United States.
In November 2020, Square announced it was acquiring Credit Karma Tax, a free do-it-yourself tax-filing service, for $50 million and would make it a part of its Cash App unit.
Supported Devices
Square cash can be used on the following devices.
IOS, Android, Windows, Mac
A business can sign up via the CashApp website, choosing (for business purposes).
How it works
The owner sets up an account, creating a user name (usually the business name). The user name is called a Cash Tag. Once that’s been set up the business gets a Cash.me page. Customers can submit payments to the business Cash.me page. Customers don’t need a Square Cash Account to make payments to the business Cash.me page. The Cash.me page for the business can accept payments from many different apps, and also credit and debit cards.
Through the Square Cash app, a business can also buy or sell cryptocurrency, including bitcoin.
Square Cash Pricing
The fee for transactions is a bit lower than typical, at 2.75%. Reviews of Square Cash include criticisms of its $1,000 limit on the amount allowed per transaction. It’s important to point out that the limits are automatically set on new accounts. To remove that restriction, a business just has to go through a short process to get verified.
6. XOOM
Xoom is an electronic payment Service Incorporated by PayPal to transfer funds or remittance providers that allow consumers to send money, pay bills, and reload mobile phones from the United States and Canada to 131 countries and it is touted as an alternative to Western Union and MoneyGram.
Xoom is originally set up so that people could send money to friends and family abroad. A business owner can use Xoom to send money to a bank account in the US or another country or use the app to pay the US or international bills.
History
Xoom Corporation was founded in 2001 and has its headquarters in San Francisco, California.
In June 2010, Xoom was cited in a study by the Inter-American Dialogue of 79 remittance service providers as having amongst the highest consumer satisfaction ratings.
In March 2011, and in September 2012, Xoom was listed in the “Wall Street Journal’s” annual “Next Big Thing List” list of the 50 most promising venture-backed companies.
In October 2012, in a follow-up survey by the Inter-American Dialogue of 51 remittance service providers for the US to Latin America market, ranked Xoom top for fees charged and countries served.
Supported Devices
IOS, Android, Windows, Mac. All payment options are accepted by PayPal, including credit and debit cards that have a linked bank account.
Xoom Pricing
The basic fee for sending money from a bank account is $4.99 for transactions. The costs for moving money vary depending on the types of transactions and the country. As a service to member businesses, Xoom provides a fee and exchange rate calculator for overseas transactions.
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Summary
Using mobile payment apps for your business is actually a great choice to consider other than using the normal credit card or debit card route. All that is required of you is to link your credit or debit card to the payment app. If you are thinking why that is, here’s why. Customers want it because of its conveniences and it is the future of online payment processing.
In fact, consumers find it easy to use mobile payment apps to create a digital wallet and use it to make payments for any goods or services that they need. This might prompt you into giving it a trial, and you may conceive the thought of which one is best and which one should you choose when you go to the app store? Here are things to consider.
What are the App Fees?
Most mobile payment apps charge no fee to the consumer to move money. But when the consumer uses the app in place of actual cash money to purchase goods or services, the business pays a fee.
It’s hard to escape and accept the fact that there’s a cost when businesses send and receive money via their mobile payment apps. You can ease the pain by remembering that way back when, when debit cards were only in someone’s imagination and credit cards were the standard, there was always a fee to businesses.
The bottom line is that all businesses need customers to survive. For that to happen, you need to sell to the market what they want and customers like using apps to make payments, instead of exchanging cash money.
