Mobile Payments – The Next Big Opportunity for E-Commerce

Mobile payments refer to the ability to finish a transaction on a mobile or smartphone. If you are an ecommerce solution provider, then you already know that this technology is taking the retail industry by storm. Mobile payments are ushering a new era of various transactions that are disruptive the traditional landscape of payments. As customers are increasingly moving to mobile, it is important that you as a retailer understand the consequences of mobile payments, and how you can prepare for this big change.

 

Businesses to Better Serve Customers

Consumers have been adopting mobiles and smartphones at a rapid pace. This presents businesses with a massive opportunity to serve customers better. While credit cards emerged decades ago, mobiles are still a relatively new phenomenon. Credit and debit cards reduced a lot of the worry associated with payments, by eliminating the need for customers to carry cash with them. Through e-payment technology customers could now make the payment digitally.

With mobile payments, customers want control and convenience. It is anticipated that in the future, every digital device will be eventually connected to commerce. With this, people will want many options to shop and make payments at their own convenience. As a retailer, it is important for you to take advantage of various offerings and partnerships, to deliver the best experience to your customers.

While it is true that mobile payment solution provider options have existed for many years, options like Apple Pay have given the world of mobile payments new momentum. With lot of emphasis on security and simplicity, this mode of payment is gaining rapid traction among the consumers and merchants.

 

User Data Collection

One of the ways to enhance the retail experience for consumers on mobile is to engage customers by leveraging their personal data and purchase information. Many mobile based ecommerce payment gateway options do not currently provide this option. They do not collect customer data yet. However, if you wish to stay relevant and creative as a retailer in the business climate, you should keep and store your customers’ data as much as possible. This data can be used to create targeted recommendations for your customers to shop, personalized ads that will entice your customers to purchase more, and much more.

 

Consumers Want to Feel In Control

If you are an ecommerce solution provider, it is important for you to understand your customer’s behavior and psyche. Most customers want to feel in control when making a purchase. Mobile payments have shown the most growth in areas like groceries, quick serve restaurants, as well as convenience stores. By taking the friction out of the payment process, you can make the process more seamless and convenient for your customers. One of the ways to help customers feel more in control of their transactions is to mask and protect the customer’s personally identifiable information or PII. This brings in a host of data security concerns, which currently is not as advanced in mobile devices as it is for a laptop or desktop.

This way, by balancing the control factor and the security constraints, you can create an environment where users can protect their identity, while also ensuring a safe transaction. That said, no transaction is really completely safe. No matter which e-payment technology you use on your website, hackers are never far away. Some of the most sophisticated systems have been hacked by malicious entities, and this has largely to do with weak verification processes from banks. It is important to ask the issuing bank to verify the customer’s account numbers. It is also important that banks have very stringent regulations in place to do these verifications.