Wireless Processing – Using Infrastructure To Your Advantage

The proliferation of the cell phone has all but killed the traditional land-line communication businesses that existed up until the 1990s. It has become rare to see banks of pay telephones in hotel lobbies, homes have turned to IP phone services such as Vonage, and dial up Internet service is a (bitter!) memory in the eyes of many. As carriers such as Verizon look to sell off their land line service, business owners must begin to consider how they will transact card service in the future.

For some businesses, the time to act is sooner, rather then later. Merchants who operate in mobile industries may not always have access to services we take for granted – electricity, telephone lines, and automated teller machines. Secure community broadband is not a given in many places, as rogue access points and unencrypted links are very common. With increasingly strict compliance rules coming into place, writing down the cardholder’s information and calling it in is not an option as it once was. The critical process of determining that a card presented by the customer is not fraudulent and is capable of processing the amount requested is also essential, as services are rendered and payment must be assured.

With more and more people choosing to use debit cards instead of cash, having the ability to clear these transactions becomes a critical business function. The choice to accept credit and debit is not optional; it has become a must for most enterprises. The question then becomes not “if” but “how” these transactions will be processed.

Mobile businesses may find wireless credit card processing very appealing. These can include services to homes, such as home maintenance or improvement, HVAC installation or repair, or landscaping. Mobile businesses such as tow trucks or automotive glass repair can also benefit from the ability to clear transactions from anywhere. By issuing wireless terminals to the agents in the field, you empower the workforce to become less reliant on the home office staff. Additionally, by swiping the card instead of calling it into the home office, lower card processing rates apply. The problems with handling cash also are reduced or eliminated, there is less risk of loss by not having agents need to handle and be accountable for large amounts of bills.

Wireless processing is just beginning to catch its stride in the mainstream market. Technology has become more advanced, and wireless equipment has continued to drop in price. Once limited to large companies, mobile merchant processing has become affordable to small and medium businesses. By leveraging the investment made by large companies, smaller players can now enjoy the benefits of secure mobile processing.