Go cashless – your small business can take payments from anywhere with one of these mobile credit card readers
There is a saying: “Cash is King”. Well, we’re not so sure about that anymore. Look into yours wallet at the moment – how much cash do you have with you? It is evident that cards have become the preferred transaction tool for any type of purchase. With this in mind, how can small businesses survive in a world where cash is becoming increasingly scarce? Mobile credit card readers bring small business or any other service or product you sell into the modern world where cards are king.
Mobile credit card readers are an incredible tool for any merchant selling products or services. Let’s say you clean carpets for a living. You can offer your service, connect the mobile card reader directly to your phone via the headphone jack or the Lightning connector on your iPhone and pay directly on site. All you need is a mobile card reader, your phone and a smartphone app and you’re good to go. What a world.
What Else Should I Know About Mobile Card Readers?
Today there are essentially three types of mobile card readers:
-
Magnetic stripe reader
-
EMV chip card reader
-
Mobile wallets
Magnetic stripe reader are your classic case in which you slide the magnetic strip of your credit card through the slider to pay. As we all know, technology is moving at an incredible rate, and even these types of card readers are becoming increasingly rare due to the potential for credit card fraud. These work with any credit card, of course, but EVM chip readers are becoming the standard.
EMV chip readers are a far safer way for both the merchant to receive payments and the customer to protect themselves from fraud. EMV chip readers are mobile credit card readers with which you can insert your card into the device and read the chip in your card for making payments. This is a much safer payment method and can protect both parties, especially the merchant who may be responsible for stolen credit card information if they don’t use an EMV chip reader.
Mobile wallets are essentially the next step in evolution. Many people leave their wallets at home and opt for contactless payments on their mobile phones or smartwatches. These mobile wallets use NFC to make contactless payments. Not only is this a quick way to pay for products and services, but it also means you don’t have to touch anything that feels more important after 2020.
What are the best mobile card readers?
In the world of mobile payment, Square sits on the throne and offers many options for your business. However, there are a handful of other options from companies like Paypal and Shopify that offer convenient and secure mobile payees.
Below are our recommendations for the best mobile card readers.
1. Square terminal
The Square Terminal is a sturdy payment option, but not quite as portable as the Square options that plug into your phone. Apart from that, this is a more versatile and secure payment entry tool with swipe, chip and contactless payment. It prints receipts directly from the terminal for your customers and you can receive bank withdrawals in a single business day.
2. Square reader for magnetic stripes
PHONE WITH HEADPHONE SOCKET
This mobile card reader fits in your pocket and is conveniently plugged into the headphone jack on your phone. It accepts all major credit and debit cards as customers swipe their card’s magnetic stripe to make payment. Fees include 2.6% + $ 0.10 for each swipe. Combine this with the Square Point of Sale app and you can see a full transaction history of all your sales.
Buy: SumUp Plus Card Reader $ 19.00
3. Square Reader for iPhone
New iPhone users are happy to pay the extra $ 3 to use this Square mobile card reader as it has the ability to plug the card reader into the lighting port instead of the headphone jack. All of the same processing fees and payment processing apply to the headphone jack’s square card reader. The only real difference is the starting price and the connection to your phone.
Buy: Square Reader for iPhone $ 9.98
4. Payanywhere card reader
There are many small businesses out there that don’t want to deal with mobile card reader processing fees. Payanywhere offers a monthly fee of $ 9.95 for services. Depending on the size of your company, it may be cheaper to choose this monthly rate. You’ll need to set up an account with SWYFTPAY, but then you’ll get the benefits of a mobile card reader that can read magnetic stripes, EMV and contactless payments. It’s also small enough to fit in your pocket.
Buy: Payanywhere Card Reader $ 19.87
5. Shopify Card & Swipe Reader
Granted, plugging mobile card readers into your phone all the time and then unplugging them when you don’t need them can be a little annoying. The Shopify Card & Swipe Reader connects to your mobile phone or can be integrated into your POS system via Bluetooth so that you don’t have to physically connect anything to your phone. Customers can swipe their cards or have the chips read for extra protection. You can even capture signatures with the Shopify POS.
Buy: Shopify Card & Swipe Reader € 29.00
6. Paypal Chip and Swipe Reader
This slim and practical mobile credit card reader is ideal for service and product providers on the go. It weighs less than two ounces and is slim enough to fit comfortably in your pocket. The mobile card reader accepts chip and swipecard payments, but in conjunction with the mobile app you can even send invoices and record cash transactions.
Buy: Paypal Chip and Swipe Reader $ 24.99
Do you love what you see? follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook and be the first to find out about new product launches, the latest trends and don’t miss any offers that you won’t find anywhere else.
More from SPY
