• Nearly four in 10 U.S. customers will use mobile payments this year.
  • Common mobile payments include tap-to-pay, mobile wallets and QR codes.
  • Researching different mobile payment options — and offering the ones that fit best with your business model — is a good way to keep your customers happy.

Swipe. Tap. Pass through a threshold. The ways in which customers can make a payment might feel countless these days.

Countless … and often confusing. As a small business owner, it can be overwhelming to navigate the different ways to conduct sales. With mobile payments on the rise, though — nearly four in 10 U.S.-based consumers will use proximity mobile payments this year[1] — consumers are developing an expectation with how they are able to pay for their goods and services.

Keeping the growth of mobile payments in mind, here are a few things to consider when looking into the best mobile payment solutions for your consumers.

Contactless Payment Options

The concept may be the same — the ability to make a payment for a product or service without the need to hand off cash or a credit card to an employee — but the method of contactless payment can vary. The most common ones include:

Tap-to-pay

One contactless payment option allows customers to tap their credit or debit card to your contactless-enabled checkout terminal. These checkout terminals can be portable and link directly to your business smartphone or tablet, they can integrate directly to your existing POS system, they can provide an all-in-one point-of-sale solution with more extensive software and functionality … or even more.

Within the United States, 34% of in-person transactions are done with tap-to-pay, which was up more than 10 percentage points from 2021[2]. Even if you’re new to the contactless payment game, most businesses find it fairly easy to implement a tap-to-pay system.

Mobile wallets

Mobile — or digital — wallets are another version of contactless technology. The term refers to your customer’s ability to store financial data — like their credit and debit cards, gift cards, loyalty cards and more — directly in their phone to make purchases on the go.

There are several ways for customers using digital wallets to make payments. PNC’s PNC Pay®, for example, allows PNC Android™ users to enroll their PNC Visa® consumer or business credit and debit cards using the PNC Mobile app. After setting PNC Pay as their device’s default wallet on their Android, all they need to do is hold their device near the payment terminal to make a payment.

Other common mobile wallet options include Apple Pay®, Google Pay™, and PayPal™. To ensure that you cater to the largest audience, make sure that your payment systems take payments from as many different mobile wallet options as possible.

QR codes

Incorporating a Quick Response — or “QR” — code on your website, business cards, or in-store is an easy way to help customers pay seamlessly. It works by allowing a customer to scan the QR code using the camera on their phone. After that, the payment should connect directly to their mobile wallet to allow them to complete the transaction.

PNC Bank customers who are signed up for Zelle® can use QR codes to send and receive money with eligible businesses. According to some statistics, 58% of consumers say they’d like to have the option of using a QR code to pay at a restaurant or grocery store[3]. With numbers like that, adding this option is worth looking into.

The Benefits of Contactless Payment Options

These contactless technologies are easy and convenient for both consumer and small business owner, and the benefits are many.

Speed. Contactless transactions go through within seconds, without the need for the customer to swipe or insert a card or interact with an employee. Plus, small business owners that deposit customer payments into select PNC business checking accounts will receive payment next-day, or even sooner with Rapid Deposit.

Convenience. For some contactless options, a consumer doesn’t even need to remember a wallet. Everything they need to pay is available right through their phone.

Security. The consumer’s information — including card number — is never transmitted with the transaction. Customers who use a PNC Visa card for their contactless payments also have the peace of mind of Zero Liability Fraud Protection, which means they are never on the hook for fraudulent charges made on their card.

Breaking down different mobile payment types is just the beginning when it comes to offering your customers the best shopping experience. Contact a PNC small business expert to have them walk you through what’s best for your own business.