Mobile payments are an important part of an omnichannel payment strategy. Your payment service provider may integrate with several of these types of payments or only a few. It’s up to you to decide which combination of payment methods is essential and choose the payment service provider that lets you offer them.
NFC mobile payments
Near-field communication (NFC) allows a smart device to wirelessly share data when in close range with another device. NFC mobile payment systems, such as Apple Pay, allow smart device users to complete contactless payments.
Since in-person point of sale is not available at most ecommerce shops, NFC payments are not a major consideration except for physical stores. Quick response codes, or QR codes, are not NFC payments since the customer has to activate the code.
In-app mobile payments
In-app mobile payments are digital payments made via a store’s app. The key feature is that consumers can complete a transaction within a single, closed ecosystem, meaning they don’t need to exit the app to validate the transaction. Amazon is the best-known example of this, though there are many others. If your ecommerce business is large enough to support its own payment ecosystem, you will benefit from a higher conversion rate that comes from having fewer checkout steps.
Peer-to-peer (P2P) mobile payments
Peer-to-peer mobile payments are payments via third-party payment platforms, such as PayPal. Consumers can facilitate P2P mobile payments on an app with the use of a smart device.
Browser-based mobile payments
Similar to desktop-based shopping, browser-based mobile payments allow shoppers to complete transactions without the card present. All they need is their credit or debit card details, often already stored in their phone, and their billing address information.
As opposed to an in-app mobile payment, the customer visits the business’s website directly on their mobile browser and checks out. Many smaller ecommerce businesses opt for this configuration in conjunction with Apple Pay or PayPal and whatever local payment methods (iDEAL or Bancontact) are popular.
