Mobile Payments: What, how and the advantages

Today, one-third of internet users use their mobile devices to purchase goods and services, using their mobile as a payment gateway. The term mobile payment system is a catch-all for anything that allows payments to happen away from a fixed terminal or desktop. Think about the app you’ve downloaded for your favorite store or the browser experience you’ve created for mobile, these give your customers the option to pay however they want.

Adyen provides mobile purchasing systems through mobile point of sale (mPOS) devices tailored to suit different business needs. These portable devices are perfect for businesses requiring mobility, such as restaurants and retail stores, enabling payments to be made anywhere on the restaurant or shop floor. Integrated devices offer a more permanent setup while still allowing mobile payments, ideal for seamless integration with existing systems. 

Additionally, Adyen's POS terminals support contactless payments via NFC technology, and our unified commerce  solutions ensure a consistent payment experience across all sales channels, boosting customer experience and supporting business growth.

Browser-based payments are those completed while within the browser app. Interestingly, mobile browser conversions are typically 9% lower than on desktop, which suggests that there is still room for improvement within this checkout experience and optimizing will prevent that churn often associated with mobile payments.

In-app payments gathered pace during COVID-19. They offer the most fluid, on-brand customer experience, and give businesses the opportunity to build loyalty systems within the app. Joe and the Juice’s pivot to app-based purchases and pre-orders allowed them to continue selling uninterrupted during the pandemic.

Customers that use their phones to buy something in store are also engaging in mobile payments, often leaning on digital wallets like Apple Pay or Google Pay™️ in order to checkout with ease. This type of payment typically relies on NFC technology which allows a shop’s POS terminal to securely gather the shopper’s payment information via a mobile payment gateway.

mPOS are hand-held devices that allow you to take payments anywhere within a wifi radius, giving customers the opportunity to cut long lines and checkout with ease. A report by 451 Research showed that only 35% of US retailers surveyed used mPOS, and just 29% offered self-checkout. A RIS/Gartner Retail Technology Study found 30% of retailers had no plans to upgrade systems like item master data management, stock replenishment, allocation, price management, or promotion management in the next 24 months.

Adyen provides mobile purchasing systems through mobile point of sale (mPOS) devices tailored to suit different business needs. These portable devices are perfect for businesses requiring mobility, such as restaurants and retail stores, enabling payments to be made anywhere on the restaurant or shop floor. Integrated devices offer a more permanent setup while still allowing mobile payments, ideal for seamless integration with existing systems. 

Additionally, Adyen's POS terminals  support contactless payments via NFC technology, and our unified commerce  solutions ensure a consistent payment experience across all sales channels, boosting customer experience and supporting business growth.

The technologies powering these payments systems are simple, secure, and widely adopted across the world.

Near field communication (NFC) technology

Transacting via mobile payment systems allows money to be transferred and payments to be made without the use of a physical card. NFC acts as the connection between two devices in close proximity to one another. The mobile device, using a digital wallet like Apple Pay or Google Pay™️ will connect with the store’s POS terminal, and complete the payment.

QR codes

Customer generated QR codes offer another means through which mobile payments can be received, with the merchant simply scanning the code to receive the funds.

Network tokens

Network tokens help store and process the shopper’s payment data. This is made possible with mobile payment tokenization, which lets you capture and reuse card details via an encrypted token – so you don’t have to worry about storing sensitive payment data.

Simply put, mobile means convenience, and convenience is key in today’s economy. The more convenient it is for customers to pay, the higher the satisfaction and subsequently, the higher your revenue will be.

Increased revenue

Customers uncomfortable with prolonged periods in stores will be more inclined to shop in environments they know are mobile-efficient, leading to higher sales for mobile leaders.

According to McKinsey, retailers with the highest offerings of touchless automation, both in-store and in warehouses, can expect a clear competitive advantage going forward.

Happy customers

For both the staff and customers, having a mobile terminal in hand means keeping the conversation going right to the end, an experience that’s frankly more fun for both parties. 46% of consumers agree that “skipping the line and paying directly with a sales assistant’s mobile payment terminal” would increase their likelihood of completing a purchase.

Loyalty

Additionally, you can connect your loyalty program to their payment card so customers can earn points without having to dig around in their wallets for additional cards or stamp booklets.

Choosing the right mobile payment solution for your company will lead to a hike in both sales and customer satisfaction. So how to choose?

If you want to catch your customer when they’re wandering around instead of having them queue for a fixed terminal, we offer a comprehensive range of mobile POS. Our platform is also the full package, meaning we can manage your ecommerce, card acquiring, risk management, and point of sale in one system. With everything connected, your customer can dictate their journey. They can order online, they can collect and return in store, and they can pay at the point of sale or in app. It really doesn’t matter. And you get to see all their activity in one place.

An alternative mobile pay solution is Pay By Link, whereby the platform generates custom payment links for your shoppers through various checkout pages. Payment links are the most accessible and quickest way to make your payments more mobile. Links generated can be sent through social media, email, or chat. QR codes are created using this solution as well.