Are you set up to take mobile payments? Are you confident that the platform you're using is the most viable, reliable and the most convenient for your customers?
If not, don't sweat it. Since the Internet and its many branching and related technologies pop up and become outmoded faster than most people can say "planned obsolescence," it can be tough to keep up, much less pick the winning horse in the race. But these kinds of services and apps aren't going anywhere, at least for a while.
Entrepreneur.com has a rundown on four of the leading services you can or should use, depending on why you're accepting payments online. Square, Intuit GoPayment, PayAnywhere and Paypal Here are put through their paces -- and the site also recommends who should be using which services.
PayAnywhere, which I've never heard of prior to this, is touted as being "for business owners who'd rather entrust their payment processing to a company that's been doing it for more than a few years… and its 24/7 support can help mitigate any technical concerns."
Sounds good, but a one-size-fits all approach, of course, won't be ideal for everyone. We've run pieces on Square before, and the others, especially PayPal, have great name recognition, but by no means are they the only outlets available for those seeking this kind of service.
If you want to stick with mobile payments, LevelUp is worth investigating. So is PhoneSwipe. Dwolla is another one that's building steam, or at least becoming more of a household name -- and can also be used just through the Internet if you so desire.
Of course, you should weigh the options and decide if it's worth hopping on this particular bandwagon for your business. Remember, though, if you have fewer ways to accept payments, you have fewer ways potential customers and clients can give you their business. But don't just do it to do it. Do it with a purpose and a strategy in mind.
David Wolinsky is a freelance writer and a lifelong Chicagoan. In addition to currently serving as an interviewer-writer for Adult Swim, he's also a comedy-writing instructor for Second City. He was the Chicago city editor for The Onion A.V. Club where he provided in-depth daily coverage of this city's bustling arts/entertainment scene for half a decade. When not playing video games for work he's thinking of dashing out to Chicago Diner, Pizano's, or Yummy Yummy. His first career aspirations were to be a game-show host.
