If you didn't think a payments revolution was taking place, think again

If you didn't think there was a payments revolution taking place, then think again as dealmaking websites like Groupon, Living Social and Huddlebuy have been pushing payments systems. 

It makes startling and notable change when you see consumer-based services pushing merchant and business based services at low cost.

First there was my free deal for iZettle.  Like Square, iZettle is a simple dongle you stick in your smartphone and you can take payments.  Simple to set up and use, and pushed recently in a Huddlebuy deal where you could get the dongle and a mobile payments website for free.

Particularly noteworthy are the deal details:

• GIVEAWAY: iZettle mobile payment solution (worth £20) and a mobile website from Moably, FREE for life (worth £193)
• Includes FREE chip-card reader and iZettle app
• Flat rate of 2.75% per transaction with card reader
• Compatible with MasterCard, Diners Club, American Express and Visa
• No hidden costs or contracts
• Fee of 2.75% per transaction made with card reader. It is possible to take payments manually (without card reader) by typing in credit card details - these will be charged at £0.10 + 3.5% of transaction amount.
• Access to this deal is subject to meeting iZettle's basic eligibility requirements, including passing standard credit checks, and terms & conditions
• The FREE mobile website will be given to active iZettle users who have taken their first transaction
• Available in the UK only

So I then see another deal today from Huddlebuy for PayaTrader.

This one is also selling fast – about 10 are being bought per minute as I write this – and the deal is similar:

• UK Exclusive: Take payments by telephone for £0 per month, no ongoing fees or contract
• We've waived the standard set-up fee, saving you £99
• PAYG, 2.5% per transaction for MasterCard & Visa, 2.95% for American Express and as little as 2.3% for transactions above £2,500 per week
• Ideal for start-up businesses, sole traders, professionals and other small businesses
• 2013 Card & Payments Award winning, secure PCI compliant solution
• No merchant accounts required
• Offer available to UK businesses only

It just goes to show that these things are mainstream now.

Anyways, if fancy further understanding, click on the links – PayaTrader, iZettle – and/or watch the videos.

PayaTrader:

Payatrader from Boy on Vimeo.

iZettle:

And note these are just one of many today including mPowa, SumUp, PayLeven, Go Payment (from Intuit) and of course Square and PayPal.

The key result is that, in the near future, everybody will be a merchant.

 

Lastline courtesy of Andrew Curry

Comments

[Mark Pavan]

Spot on Chris.
Earlier this week the Payments Council in the UK put this release out about changing customers habits in Finance in the UK. So from the other side to complement your merchant comment.

I quote:
"Flashing less cash – how we pay for it
Paying for our goods and services has changed dramatically too. Cheque usage continues to fall, halving every five years, hand-in-hand with our reliance on cash – particularly for our regular payments and higher value spontaneous payments.

For example in 2001, an astonishing 40% of home rental payments were made in cash and 43% of our retail spending by value used notes and coins too. By 2011, landlords collected only just over a quarter of rents in cash, while only 30% of shopping was paid for in this way (with the majority of payments being under £5). The rise of the debit card has been responsible for the decline of cash on the high street - indeed debit card spending has risen almost fourfold since 2001- while Direct Debits have completely changed the way we make our regular payments.

We still make a lot of very small cash transactions (three out of five of our one-off payments) but since 91% are under £25, contactless payment technology which has started to become a more familiar sight at shop tills and on our cards could revolutionise how way we pay. Currently, most contactless payments are made using a debit or credit card upgraded with the new technology, but soon mobile phones could do the job instead. By 2021, consumer spending is forecast to be roughly 45% higher, but the use of cash is expected to have fallen 1%, and cards may be in decline by then too. As we adopt new payment technologies, this may even prove a conservative forecast."