perfect apps enriched with latest
Smartphone users are increasing worldwide like a wildfire. And the dawn of Smartphones’ omnipresence is fueling the mobile app economy like never before. Today, the web isn’t the only platform to sell your goods or service online. You can also harness the strength of mobile apps to sell your business products or services to a wider audience. And, here is when the need for a mobile payment gateway comes into the picture.
Regardless if you are one of those home-based online businesses, a startup, a SMB or an enterprise who is planning to build an eCommerce mobile app (also known as m-commerce app), if you are totally unaware of the basics of integrating a payment gateway into your iOS or Android app then you’ve reached the right post.
A closest analogy of a mobile payment gateway is a POS (Point of Sale) machine that you will find in most of the retail stores out there. A POS machine sends the card details to the issuer company to verify if the buyer has the billed amount in his or her account and once authentication is finished, the machine goes ahead deducting the billed amount from a buyer’s account.
Simply put, a POS machine functions as a go-between between a customer and a financial institution. And, if you are a seller who wants to facilitate your consumers for a quick card payment at the store checkout terminal, you need to choose a reliable payment gateway. The mobile payment gateways work on the same concept, but are slightly different in nature.
In a mobile app, a user browses your app and adds some products to cart that he or she wants to buy. The virtual shopping cart (which works as a Pos machine) in your app then connects to payment gateway you have integrated and directs the card details to the authorized card issuer server. The payment, if approved, goes to your merchant account through your payment gateway and after a few days you are likely to receive it in your actual bank account. Quite an intricate process it is!
Have you ever enjoyed a ride in Uber taxi? If yes, probably you know how the Uber app allows you to make payment from your Smartphone in the easiest and quickest way. Amazon, eBay and there are a plenty of online sellers from different industry verticals who now allow their app consumers to pay using their mobile in a safe and hassle-free manner.
However, when you are accepting payments from users’ mobile devices, you, as a business or service provider, are accountable for securing the financial information of customers by adapting to PCI compliance standards. Getting a PCI compliance certificate demands a lot of effort and time.
Now, the main question is how to develop a mobile app that can process mobile payment securely and what are the choices you have in terms of payment gateways? Read on.
A quick takeaway: By 2019, mobile payments will be twice of the number in 2014, says a Forrester Report.
If you are selling digital goods (ebook, magazine subscription, etc.) through your app in Apple’s app store or Google Play store, the app stores take the whole payment responsibility on their own and earn commission from your in-app purchases. But, if your app is selling something non-digital, you get to choose your own payment gateway solution.
To wrap up, mobile commerce spheres are quite different than web commerce (or e-commerce) spheres. Payment solutions for the m-commerce and mobile apps developed have to be more intuitive, speedy and secure. Hope this article has given you a good insight into mobile payment solutions.
Know what’s new in Technology and Development