Credit cards are taking over the nation. According to Statistic Brain, a 2014 study by the US Federal Reserve shows there are 199,800,000 verified credit card holders in the country. The same study shows that they are nearly two billion active credit cards in use. This is because a person has, on average, two to three cards. Around 66 percent of business transactions use credit cards , according to Card Hub. Using cash is slowly dying out. Businesses big and small are turning to advancing credit card readers. Mobile options are starting to pick up as well.
These days you can now use your iPad to handle transactions. But why switch to a mobile credit card reader instead of the tried-and-true stationary one? Consider these
benefits.
Mobility and Operational Flexibility
Ever see long lines at a cashier? If your business suffers from customers leaving the store because of long lines at the counter, then mobile readers are for you. Instead of
letting the customers wait to reach the cashier you can bring the cashier to them. Many restaurants and fast food chains started the trend and it is kicking all over the
country. Employees can bring an iPad equipped with a card reader and mobile POS account to the middle of the line to conduct the transaction right where the customer is standing.
This gets even better for brick-and-mortar stores with stationary displays. Jewelry stores and video game stores are great examples here. You won’t need to pull customers away as they peruse a display case. The sale can be made right there with the customer.
More Transaction Options
The main problem with stationary credit card readers is that they have limited functions. One can be a manual card reader while another is a swipe reader. Then there are the newer types. These are the tap-and-pay card readers. Can you imagine how difficult it is to switch from one reader to the next? They make mobile card readers to cater to all your transaction needs. This means they can function at different levels. For example: the card reader offered by Shopify is a swipe reader with several options. If the magnetic strip on the card isn’t working you can still use your iPad to manually punch in the numbers. The card reader will then be able to send the information all the same. According to Payments Cards and Mobile, a study by SYNERGISTICS showed that using a card reader can increase cash flow by 50 percent and overall sales by 47 percent. You don’t need to jump from one reader to the next.
Tracking and Records
Of course mobile POS systems have a lot of features and capabilities. With a mobile card reader you can use those features to their fullest extent. You can keep track of all the credit card transactions, receipts, and tracking reports. You can track how your business is going without having to buy any other software. Every credit card run through a mobile card reader automatically saves a report on your mobile POS account. This is important because it helps in avoiding fraudulent transactions. Many businesses fear using an iPad as a terminal, considering it unsafe, but according to Business News Daily, wireless and mobile POS systems are very reliable. With a secure mobile card reader, you won’t run into problems at all. Everything is on record and easy to track.
It Is Easy and Intuitive
There are a few problems with traditional card readers; they are difficult to install, difficult to use, and difficult to update for modern needs. Comparing them to a mobile reader on your
iPad is like night and day. With a mobile reader, you simply have to plug it into the headphone jack of your tablet. All you’ll have to do then is connect it to the account and it’ll be ready for use. It couldn’t get any easier than that. There’s no cable to hook up and there’s no peripheral hardware to connect. The best part is that it can run on any iPad. So long as the iPad connects to the merchant POS account, then the mobile card reader will work.
All the Apps You Need
Mobile readers are PCI-approved so you won’t have to worry about legal concerns or fraud. If you do run into any problems, then you don’t have to run to a specialist. Tablets can run hundreds of downloadable apps. Many of them work specifically for business needs. There’s no need for special hardware. Just download what you need and run it right there on the spot. This especially counts for those times where you want to double-check on the information on a card or on the user. There are many apps to provide better security. Most of these will work hand-in-hand with your POS and mobile card reader states Money Saving Pro.
Why stick with the past? Give your customers more options and faster transactions. Give them better service with mobile credit card readers. They are cheaper, easier to use, and more intuitive than the traditional readers. They work well with mobile POS accounts and usually come bundled in with a POS package.
