No matter whether you are selling a service or a product… these days you may find yourself wishing you could take a payment while you are out and about. Capturing credit card data and closing the sale has become easier with the proliferation of Smart Phone technology. I-Phones, Blackberry, Android and I-Pads give you the convenience of portability but how safe are they to transact sales. VERY! As long as you use encrypted hardware and PCI Compliant providers. Having a merchant account that is covered by PCI Compliance is a big step toward protecting you and your customers.
What about the costs?
This chart gives a comparison of the top 4 providers of processing.
| NPC Mobile | Square | Intuit | Veriphone | |
| Requires a merchant account | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Card Reader | Free | Free | Free | $119 |
| Is Card Reader encrypted | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| BlackBerry | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Tablet Support | Yes | No | No | No |
| Virtual Terminal | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Card reader works on PC/MAC | Yes | No | No | No |
| Signature Capture | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Swipe Rate | .05%-2.9% | 2.75% | 2.7% / 1.7% | Group Pricing |
| Keyed Rate | .05%-3.1% | 3.50% | 3.7% / 2.7% | Group Pricing |
| Monthly fee | $19.95 | No | Min. or $12.95 | $19.00 |
| Transaction Fee | $0.10 | $.15 if keyed | $0.00 / $0.00 | $0.15 |
The Durbin Act which went into effect October 2011 gives merchants who accept debit cards a significant improvement in their bottom line costs. Most banks cannot charge more than .05% to process a debit card; this is down from 1.19% before the Act changed the rules. If that same transaction was key entered, previous costs could have been 2.19%. In most cases, Merchants should shop for processors who offer Interchange rates and avoid the fixed rate or tiered model. Anytime, card data is key entered, a higher rate is assessed by the provider due to fraud concerns so swiping is always the most economical standard operating procedure. In the case of debit cards, this is not the case.
A Mobile solution like any merchant account requires a Tax ID, a voided check and the description and carrier of the Phone in order to establish a unique and secure account. The Patriot Act also requires personal information to verify the business owner as a reputable citizen. By taking these steps, you can be processing on the GO in 24-48 hours.