The ever accelerating rate of mobile technology adoption is having a dramatic effect upon the SMB point of sale merchant. Over the past 30 years this merchant segment has always utilized a variety of products to accomplish their payment requirements, but today mobile solutions are rapidly replacing credit card terminals, ECRs, and even PC point of sale systems.
Initial inroads for mobile payments were naturally found with the typical mobile merchant category types - festival vendors, landscapers, plumbers, etc. ...but today it is hard to find a merchant category that has not seen significant mobile payment adoption. Retailers of all types have "taken a liking" to processing payment transactions on their phones and tablet devices.
Just as was the case in the "pre-mobile" days, the major buying influencers for mobile payment products is two-fold consisting of price and required functionality. Because of this it was just natural that mobile payment solutions have also evolved over time into two basic product categories ... Credit Card Terminal Replacement solutions and Retail/Restaurant Management tablets.
Mobile Terminal Replacement (mPOS) solutions allow merchants to replace the traditional credit card terminal with a free mobile app on their phone, iPad or Android tablet device that brings added retail functionality to the small retailer or small counter service restaurant. Simple, itemized order entry along with cash drawer and printer connectivity is now a reality for this merchant type that in the past required a complex PC POS that was overkill for what they needed to do, or a confusing, and limited ECR to accomplish similar functionality. Several additional benefits that also come with this mobile product. For example, allowing for email receipt delivery to an increasingly tech savvy customer base while archiving the email addresses for future marketing endeavors as well.
Retail/Restaurant Management Tablets add the feature sophistication required in larger establishments, but with this sophistication there is a tradeoff on cost and simplicity. Unlike the free mPOS product category, there is a monthly fee for the mobile app and Management Tablet solutions are quite a bit more complex and normally require technical assistance upfront by a technician that not only understands the app’s features, but also has an understanding and ability to educate and guide the merchant on best practices for their business. And there's the "rub" ... make sure the partner from who you acquire your Retail/Restaurant Management system can support you with installation and configuration requirements.
Mobile payment has disrupted both the Merchant Acquiring and POS Value Added Resellers channels and I am sure you will see some players fall by the wayside. The smart providers in this space will continue being successful by maintaining a tech-savvy support staff that understands the products and leverage quality partners with a similar vision. In many ways the sales process (and success) will remain the same for those with the foresight to invest in understanding what it takes to provide mobile point of sale to their customer base.
Merrell Sheehan is Vice President of Product Development at Electronic Merchant Systems. Merrell currently leverages his 20+ years in the payment technology industry leading a team that develops and markets EMS+ (www.plusbyems.com), an mPOS merchant solution with a rapidly growing user base of over 20,000 merchants.
Initial inroads for mobile payments were naturally found with the typical mobile merchant category types - festival vendors, landscapers, plumbers, etc. ...but today it is hard to find a merchant category that has not seen significant mobile payment adoption. Retailers of all types have "taken a liking" to processing payment transactions on their phones and tablet devices.
Just as was the case in the "pre-mobile" days, the major buying influencers for mobile payment products is two-fold consisting of price and required functionality. Because of this it was just natural that mobile payment solutions have also evolved over time into two basic product categories ... Credit Card Terminal Replacement solutions and Retail/Restaurant Management tablets.
Mobile Terminal Replacement (mPOS) solutions allow merchants to replace the traditional credit card terminal with a free mobile app on their phone, iPad or Android tablet device that brings added retail functionality to the small retailer or small counter service restaurant. Simple, itemized order entry along with cash drawer and printer connectivity is now a reality for this merchant type that in the past required a complex PC POS that was overkill for what they needed to do, or a confusing, and limited ECR to accomplish similar functionality. Several additional benefits that also come with this mobile product. For example, allowing for email receipt delivery to an increasingly tech savvy customer base while archiving the email addresses for future marketing endeavors as well.
Retail/Restaurant Management Tablets add the feature sophistication required in larger establishments, but with this sophistication there is a tradeoff on cost and simplicity. Unlike the free mPOS product category, there is a monthly fee for the mobile app and Management Tablet solutions are quite a bit more complex and normally require technical assistance upfront by a technician that not only understands the app’s features, but also has an understanding and ability to educate and guide the merchant on best practices for their business. And there's the "rub" ... make sure the partner from who you acquire your Retail/Restaurant Management system can support you with installation and configuration requirements.
Mobile payment has disrupted both the Merchant Acquiring and POS Value Added Resellers channels and I am sure you will see some players fall by the wayside. The smart providers in this space will continue being successful by maintaining a tech-savvy support staff that understands the products and leverage quality partners with a similar vision. In many ways the sales process (and success) will remain the same for those with the foresight to invest in understanding what it takes to provide mobile point of sale to their customer base.
Merrell Sheehan is Vice President of Product Development at Electronic Merchant Systems. Merrell currently leverages his 20+ years in the payment technology industry leading a team that develops and markets EMS+ (www.plusbyems.com), an mPOS merchant solution with a rapidly growing user base of over 20,000 merchants.
