US-based Flint Mobile has created an app that allows small businesses to take mobile payments from customers – without using a card reader. Unlike other mobile payment offerings, such as PayPal Here and Square, Flint allows users to take credit card payments using their smartphone’s camera.
As we move into an increasingly cashless society, it becomes more important for businesses to provide customers with the ability to pay with plastic. However, credit card payment terminals can be an expensive outlay, especially for small businesses.
The answer? Small business owners can turn their smartphones into mobile payment terminals, thus negating the need to buy an expensive POS device, and reducing business costs. As most people keep their phones with them night and day, they will be able to take payments at any time – wherever they happen to be.
Of course, using a smartphone or tablet as a POS device is not a new idea. Companies such as PayPal and Square have been doing it for years. However, if you want to use their service, you will need a plug-in card reader.
Using PayPal Here, for example, you have to download the app and plug in the card reader before you can start taking payments. When you want to take a payment, you log in to the app, swipe the credit or debit card in the card reader, and the money is deducted from the cardholder’s account.
Flint does it slightly differently. Flint users simply log in to the app on their iOS or Android smartphone, and when they want to take a payment, they use their phone’s camera to capture the credit card information, removing the need for a plug-in card reader.
Is it safe?
That doesn’t sound very secure, we hear you say. While most people would baulk at the idea of some stranger using their phone to take a photo of their credit card, Flint doesn’t actually take a photo, and it doesn’t store any credit card information on the phone or on the app.
Instead, Flint uses the phone’s camera to identify the card details – in the same way as a card reader would. In fact, it works in the same way as if you were to type the cardholder’s details into the app. The app identifies the card, and sends the request for the payment.
“There is no external card reader, no waiting for days for a reader to turn up in the mail, no more frustration of swiping a card multiple times before it reads, or having to pay a higher rate because you had to enter the number manually,” said Thomas Nitopi, CEO of Fidano, a Flint reseller. “It’s all integrated and completely swipe-free.”
Flint users can also keep track of their transaction history using the app, and provide refunds if necessary. The cardholder also receives an emailed receipt, so they can keep track of the payment as well.
The Flint app also allows cardholders to add a tip to the payment, should they want to. Loyalty offers can also be catered for, encouraging customers’ repeat business.
How much does it cost?
Nothing in life is free, including Flint. While the app itself is free, there is a charge for each transaction you make. The app charges a 1.95% transaction fee for debit cards and 2.95% for credit cards.
However, this is cheaper than many of Flint’s competitors. Using PayPal Here in Australia, you will be charged 2.9% plus $0.30 for each credit or debit card transaction.
Nevertheless, if you want to use Flint in Australia, you may have to wait a while. So far, Flint accepts only US-based Visa and MasterCard. The company says it will be adding other card networks eventually, but doesn’t mention whether it will be exported internationally.
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