Accepting credit card payments as a small business was a frustrating experience for a small business owner until now when using an iPhone, an app and a phone swipe have changed all of that.
To accept credit card payments would have been great but the cost of a mobile credit card terminal meant that my business would have had a large up front cost, a large regular monthly fixed cost to rent it and a variable cost for each sale which made it nearly impossible to make it worthwhile.
This, of course, lost me business from customers who just did not have cash on them. The worst outcome of all. I could not accept credit card payments.
The potential for fraud. To accept credit card payments, I was running the risk that the card the customer was handing me was either stolen, had exceeded its limit or had no money in the account. I could ring up the credit card company to check the amount I was hoping to charge for the goods was going to go through, which was fine. But, it was a big hassle too.
So, life as a small business owner was made even harder by the sheer cost and risk I was taking to accept credit card payments.
There is hope, however.
It's called iZettle which is a credit card terminal involves downloading a free app onto my iPhone, iPad and Samsung Galaxy S2. I, then, sent off for a phone swipe device which I just
plug into my iPhone through the 3.5mm jack or the 32-pin slot at the bottom (depending upon which phone swipe device I ordered). I paid £20 for the 3.5mm version and ordered 32-pin device for free from another offer.
The app recognised the device had been plugged in and asked me to swipe a credit card. I inserted a credit card (MasterCard) which I knew was not working, on purpose, and charged myself £1 on the screen. The app went to the credit card company and checked if it was valid. Soon, the message came back to say the card was not valid.
I then used a VISA debit card of mine using the phone swipe. Using a VISA card on iZettle is slightly odd because it sends a text message to the customer (who has typed it in on the screen). From the message, I had to click a secure link to the internet which asked me to confirm the card number, expiry date and CVV number for the transaction. the iZettle software then asked if I wanted a receipt which could either be emailed to me or printed off.
All in all, it's a great system and allows me, as a small business owner, to accept credit card payments without the huge expense and hassle that I had just a few years ago. It's well worth the money.
Costly Credit Card Terminal
Running my own small businesses over the years has proven to be more challenging when what I was selling at events or markets could only be bought by customers with cash or a cheque with a guarantee card (when they existed).To accept credit card payments would have been great but the cost of a mobile credit card terminal meant that my business would have had a large up front cost, a large regular monthly fixed cost to rent it and a variable cost for each sale which made it nearly impossible to make it worthwhile.
This, of course, lost me business from customers who just did not have cash on them. The worst outcome of all. I could not accept credit card payments.
Card Swipe on Paper
The next option was to take credit and debit using a machine which took an imprint of the customer's card details on a special document upon which I wrote the details about the goods and the total price. I could finally take credit card payments. Woo Hoo! But, there was a problem.The potential for fraud. To accept credit card payments, I was running the risk that the card the customer was handing me was either stolen, had exceeded its limit or had no money in the account. I could ring up the credit card company to check the amount I was hoping to charge for the goods was going to go through, which was fine. But, it was a big hassle too.
So, life as a small business owner was made even harder by the sheer cost and risk I was taking to accept credit card payments.
Square Credit Card Reader
Imagine my relief when I heard about a system which I could use to take credit card payments using my iPhone, iPad or smartphone. One system came out in the US which is the 'Square' credit card reader. It is taking the small business world by storm. But, it's only currently available in the US.There is hope, however.
It's called iZettle which is a credit card terminal involves downloading a free app onto my iPhone, iPad and Samsung Galaxy S2. I, then, sent off for a phone swipe device which I just
plug into my iPhone through the 3.5mm jack or the 32-pin slot at the bottom (depending upon which phone swipe device I ordered). I paid £20 for the 3.5mm version and ordered 32-pin device for free from another offer.
Phone Swipe for iPhones
I tried the iZettle system today through my iPad and iPhone and it's easy. After starting the iZettle app, I plugged in the phone swipe device into my iPhone.The app recognised the device had been plugged in and asked me to swipe a credit card. I inserted a credit card (MasterCard) which I knew was not working, on purpose, and charged myself £1 on the screen. The app went to the credit card company and checked if it was valid. Soon, the message came back to say the card was not valid.
I then used a VISA debit card of mine using the phone swipe. Using a VISA card on iZettle is slightly odd because it sends a text message to the customer (who has typed it in on the screen). From the message, I had to click a secure link to the internet which asked me to confirm the card number, expiry date and CVV number for the transaction. the iZettle software then asked if I wanted a receipt which could either be emailed to me or printed off.
All in all, it's a great system and allows me, as a small business owner, to accept credit card payments without the huge expense and hassle that I had just a few years ago. It's well worth the money.
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