PayPal, Square, Stripe, Etsy… they all offer a smartphone based mobile payment solution for taking card payments on the move but they all have the same flaw – you have to have your payment dongle or device with you. Whether it plugs into your mobile phone or communicates via BlueTooth, if you haven’t got the device with you then you can’t take a payment (well you can, but it generally involve tapping the card details in by hand which gives you as much protection against chargebacks as a card not present transaction – i.e. none!
Now WorldPay have launched a new solution to combat this. It’s rare that anyone today steps out of their house or office without slipping the smartphone into a pocket or bag. If you haven’t got your mobile phone with you you’re cut off from the world and today we don’t even memorise people’s phone numbers let alone have the reassurance that there’ll be a phone box on every street corner so that we can make contact when needed.
My Business Mobile
WorldPay’s My Business Mobile is a solution which allows you to accept contactless payments on mobile phones. My Business Mobile uses NFC (near field communication), the same technology used to turn mobiles into a contactless card for Apple Pay and Android Pay. WorldPay are simply running it in reverse and have used it to turn compatible smartphones into a terminal that can accept contactless payments. It means you can accept contactless payments under £30 on an Android phone without extra hardware anywhere in the UK so long as you have data access (WIFI or 3G/4G).
My Business Mobile Pilot
If you like the sound of using your mobile to accept contactless payments, WorldPay are running a pilot where they’ll lend you a compatible Android handset for the duration of the pilot (just pop your own SIM card in), they won’t charge you any transaction processing fees during the pilot and you and your business get to be featured on the WorldPay website.
They are interested in hearing from businesses which currently only accept cash, but are interested in taking cards, trade within the M25 and have a UK current bank account.
To take part in the pilot, register on the WorldPay website.
