Published on the 13/07/2015 | Written by Beverley Head
Thought navigating mobile phone contracts was tricky? There are even more Brobdingnagian challenges for merchants looking for mobile payment solutions…
The range of mobile payment options available for small and medium businesses continues to expand in Australia – though they vary widely.
For example two months after its May launch, US-darling Square still can’t offer card processing in Australia.
Rivals such as Stripe and PayPal can however, as do many of the major banks – offering merchants the opportunity to turn their smartphone into a payments terminal. Navigating the costs and contracts on offer however requires a certain persistence.
PayPal for example sells a $99 mobile card reader which can accept Visa or MasterCard payments – although it doesn’t have a contactless option at present.
The cost of the device is modest, but there are a series of ongoing fees that users are charged. For example PayPal charges 1.95 percent for transactions made through the card reader.
Keyed in card payments are more expensive though at 2.9 percent and 30 cents per transaction.
Stripe, meanwhile, requires users to physically input their card details rather than using a device to read the data on the card. It charges 1.75 percent and 30 cents for local cards and 2.9 percent and 30 cents for American Express and international cards.
Working with Mint, MYOB last year released a $199 device that turns a smartphone into a credit card reader for either chip and PIN or magnetic stripe cards. There are three separate usage plans for the device starting with a pay as you go plan that charges no upfront fees, but 2.8 percent of the transaction; through to a heavy usage plan that costs $60 a month and takes 1.35 percent of transactions.
eWay also supports mobile payments, but again without a card reader – users have to key in their card details. Its pricing starts at 2.6 percent per transaction, with a sliding scale based on sales volume. Braintree meanwhile charges 1.75 percent plus 30 cents.
All eyes remain on Square which opened an office in Melbourne in May after quietly launching Square Register late in 2014; this turns a tablet or smartphone into a point of sale device – but in Australia it’s a device with a deep flaw – it can’t accept credit card payments.
Square says on its website that it’s working to bring that facility to Australia (it already offers that in the US, Japan and Canada) but as yet there are no indications of when, or the fees that it will be charging and its spokespeople are entirely opaque about the company’s plans.
