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7 Mobile Payment Solutions for Your Small Businesses

Choosing the right mobile payment solution for your small business is critical. Learn more about the various options and which is right for your business.

Published

Apr 5, 2021

Updated

Sep 30, 2024

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Choosing the right payment solution for your small business is critical. Businesses need a flexible payment solution to make it easier for customers to complete transactions. Today, the best payment solutions go well beyond just taking credit cards. With ever-increasing advancements in technology, businesses can now choose various methods, tools, and platforms for accepting payments.

But which payment solution is best for your small business? In this article, we’ll discuss the essential considerations when selecting a mobile payment system. We’ll also explore the seven most popular mobile payment solutions and highlight their accepted payment options, location coverage, and fees.

What are mobile payments?

Mobile payments are transactions that occur digitally through a mobile device (smartphone or tablet). Mobile payment solutions provide businesses an opportunity to securely accept payments from customers with increased location flexibility. Mobile payment methods include the following types:

Payments made with a credit/debit card through a swipe reader attachment for a mobile device
Payments made with a credit/debit card that have a chip through a mobile chip reader attachment
Card payments made on a mobile device without a physical card present
Mobile apps that allow users to transfer money
Digital wallet apps that communicate with near-field communication technology
And more

How to choose the best payment solution

The best payment system for your small business will depend on a variety of factors. Below is a list of questions to keep in mind when evaluating which mobile payment solutions make sense for your specific business.

How much will I pay for this payment option? What are the fees, membership dues, hardware costs, and transaction rates?
Which payment methods are accepted with this platform?
Is this payment processor secure? Does the provider offer a safe solution for customer data, transaction data, and fraud protection?
What hardware, software, and technology are required for this payment system?
Where do customers interact with my business? Does this payment method cover all of the areas where my customers are trying to complete a transaction?
If I have an issue or question, what do I do? Is there a customer service person or online knowledgebase that I can access?

What are the best mobile payment solutions

With these questions in mind, let’s highlight seven of the most popular mobile payment solutions:

Stripe
Square
PayPal Here
Chase Paymentech
Shopify POS
PaySimple
GoPayment POS (Intuit Quickbooks)

Note: This article is designed to provide an overview of mobile payment solutions for small businesses. Before selecting a payment solution for your business, you’ll need to review your payment solution thoroughly. That may require additional research, reviewing updated coverage areas & pricing, and reading all of the fine print before choosing the best solution for your small business.

1) Stripe

Stripe is a complete small business payment solution with multiple transaction methods and additional features that allow business owners to expand their mobile payment capabilities.

Accepted payment options: Stripe accepts credit/debit payments, in-app payments, subscription billing, mobile wallets, and bank transfers.
Location coverage: Stripe is available for businesses in 43 countries, and the Stripe Atlas program allows global business owners to incorporate a U.S. company to receive and process payments.
Fees: No setup fees or monthly payments.
- Credit Card Transactions: 2.9% plus $0.30 cents per transaction

2) Square

Square is a leader in mobile payment solutions for small businesses with a user-friendly system that makes it easy for companies and customers. Square offers an app, physical card scanners, and a Point of Sale system for small businesses.

Accepted payment options: Square accepts all major credit cards, including American Express.
Location coverage: Square is currently available in the US, Canada, Japan, Australia, and the United Kingdom, with its point of sale available in most countries listed in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
Fees: No setup fees or monthly payments, and the basic Square swipe card reader is free.
- Standard swiped transactions: 2.75%
- Square Register swiped transactions: 2.5% plus $0.10
- Keyed-in, Card on File and Virtual Terminal transactions: 3.5% plus $0.15
- E-commerce transactions, Invoices: 2.9% plus $0.30

3) PayPal Here

Paypal is a leading payment solution with a variety of methods for small businesses to accept money. PayPal Here is a mobile payment app that expands PayPal’s online payment methods for companies with physical locations.

Accepted payment options: PayPal Here accepts various card payments and allows small businesses to record cash/check transactions and create invoices. PayPal’s broader service offering also accepts online payments and bank transfers. (Venmo is another mobile app for requesting, sending, and receiving money owned by PayPal).
Location coverage: PayPal Here’s card reader and merchant processing system is available for businesses in the United States, Canada, Australia, and Hong Kong.
Fees: No setup, PCI, monthly, or equipment fees.
- Swiped transactions: 2.7%
- Keyed-in or scanned transactions: 3.5% plus $0.15
- PayPal transactions: 2.7%
- Cross-border transactions, swiped and PayPal: 3.7%
- Cross-border transactions, keyed in or scanned: 4.5% plus $0.15

4) Chase Paymentech

Chase Paymentech is a merchant service and payment processing business from JPMorgan Chase that enables small business owners to take real-time payments on mobile devices.

Accepted payment options: Chase Paymentech accepts all types of credit and debit cards, electronic checks, plus digital, alternative, and mobile payment options.
Location coverage: Chase Merchant Services is able to accept international payments in more than 130 different currencies.
Fees: Pricing and fees may differ depending on country and currency.

5) Shopify POS

Shopify is one of the most popular eCommerce and online sales platforms. Shopify POS is designed for small businesses to accept mobile payments in physical locations using a mobile device or tablet.

Accepted payment options: Shopify POS can accept any credit or debit card payment through a swipe on an iPad or iPhone or via contactless payments using EMV-compliant readers.
Location coverage: Shopify POS is available for use worldwide with an internet connection, but your store needs to be based in a country where Shopify has supported credit card providers.
Fees: Shopify POS offers multiple plans with different credit card rates, features, and add-ons.
- Basic Shopify: $29/month plus online per credit card transaction rate of 2.9% plus $0.30 USD and in-person per credit card transaction rate of 2.7%
- Shopify = $79/month + Online per credit card transaction rate of 2.6% plus $0.30 USD and In-person per credit card transaction rate of 2.5%
- Advanced Shopify: $299/month plus online per credit card transaction rate of 2.4% plus $0.30 USD and in-person per credit card transaction rate of 2.4%

6) PaySimple

PaySimple’s business model combines a mobile payment solution with a transitional merchant services provider. PaySimple offers mobile payment options and appointment scheduling features from phones and tablets to empower small businesses.

Accepted payment options: PaySimple accepts credit cards, debit cards, and e-checks while offering the ability to create invoices and manage multiple other invoice payment options through a secure portal.
Location coverage: PaySimple is currently only available to businesses in the United States that process payments in USD.
Fees: PaySimple offers a pro plan that starts at $49.95/month plus $29.95 for the PaySimple credit card reader.
- Variable rates depending on payment type (starting at 2.49% plus $0.29 for qualified credit and debit cards)

7) GoPayment POS (Intuit Quickbooks)

GoPayment POS is a point of sale and mobile card reader app that allows businesses to receive payments on iOS or Android devices. The sales through the GoPayment POS integrate with QuickBooks Online so that business owners can easily manage funds and expenses.

Accepted payment options: GoPayment POS accepts all major credit or debit cards with Magnetic Stripe or EMV chip cards, bank transfer, Google Pay, Apple Pay, and Samsung Pay.
Location coverage: QuickBooks offers solutions for 240 countries throughout the world. GoPayment POS availability may differ across country and currency.
Fees: GoPayment offers a free plan or a fee-based plan.
- Free plan: transaction fees starting at 2.4% plus $0.25
- Fee-based plan: $20/month plus transaction fees starting at 1.6% plus $0.25

Conclusion

There are many payment solutions on the market. The best option for your small business should be affordable and allow your customers to make purchases easily. To find the right choice for your business, you’ll need to reflect on the fees/pricing, security, location coverage, hardware/software requirements, customer support, and more.

If you’re looking for a place to start, check out one of the most popular options highlighted in the article above. Hiring a payment processing specialist on Upwork can help avoid the hassle of researching payment solutions and facilitate the payment process. Upwork also offers a complete payment solution for hourly and fixed-price work contracts. Learn more about Direct Contracts here.

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Upwork is not affiliated with and does not sponsor or endorse any of the tools or services discussed in this article. These tools and services are provided only as potential options, and each reader and company should take the time needed to adequately analyse and determine the tools or services that would best fit their specific needs and situation.

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Sean Cope

SEO writer

Formerly a full-time in-house marketing director, Sean Cope began building an SEO and content creation company by freelancing on Upwork. He has enjoyed working with clients in various industries, leading them to achieve their business goals and higher Google search rankings. Sean is passionate about helping new clients in growing their businesses through search engine optimisation, content writing, and digital marketing.