Mobile payments may have taken a little while to catch on. Now that they have, however, they are spreading like wildflower to mobile devices around the world. According to Gartner.com, mobile transaction payments globally are set to surpass $171.5 billion, which is a nearly 62 percent increase over 2011 values that were only $105.9 billion. These payments are expected to continue rising over the next several years. But, how do small businesses reap the rewards of mobile payment systems while limiting the risks that go along with those additional profits? Take a look at these mobile payment systems risks and benefits.
Benefits of Mobile Payment Systems
With so many consumers turning to mobile payment systems, there’s no denying the potential benefits they offer small business owners. A few other positives you might want to consider is that you can use them to create customer loyalty programs — where you can track purchases and create merchant loyalty programs that are somewhat unique to your business as well as specifically geared to appeal to your target audience.
These are just a few of the other potential benefits you can receive from using mobile payments:
- Cheaper credit card swipe fees
- Faster to use than credit cards
- Better tracking of inventory
- Convenient to use outside of traditional retail environments
The bottom line is that there are plenty of things to be excited about, now and in the future, when it comes to mobile payments. The best news is that there is plenty for small business owners and consumers alike to find exciting.
Risks of Using Mobile Marketing
The problem is that there is one huge looming risk that simply can’t be overlooked when it comes to using mobile payments for your business. It poses a potentially huge liability problem. Hackers seem to love bringing businesses of any size to their knees and it doesn’t take much to do that with some of the crippling cyber attacks that have been delivered and/or attempted in the past several years.
Mobile payment systems gather information, data, and statistics on your customers. It holds on to these things until and unless you decide to release them. However, if your site is attacked, all that personal information you’ve collected along with any bank and financial information you may also have falls into the hands of people who do not have your customers’ best interests at heart.
The one thing you must do if you’re even thinking about using mobile payments is invest in cyber liability insurance. It won’t protect you from all the potential fallout of a cyber attack, but it can really help you get your feet back afterwards.
If you’re considering the benefits of offering mobile payments to your customers, now is a great time to see how well it works for your business. You may decide it isn’t the right choice for you, but as more consumers become increasingly comfortable with using mobile payments, you could be rewarded handsomely over time.
