Mobile payments are increasingly popular among small businesses

This trend is allowing smaller firms to accept credit card transactions in a more affordable way.

Owners of small businesses across the United States are discovering the opportunity that their tablets and smartphones are offering in terms of mobile payments that allow them to accept transactions from customer credit cards without renting expensive machines.

This has become a powerful new tool for smaller sized businesses to be able to process transactions.

The trend is not only common among small business owners who are setting up the option at the point of sale in an actual storefront, but others as well. There are many small firms that don’t have an actual shop, but that sell at trade shows, farmers markets, or that simply travel to meet their customers in various locations. These people are greatly benefiting from being able to turn their smartphones and tablets into a credit card scanner that they can use for mobile payments.

Mobile payments allow these entrepreneurs to be able to accept transactions no matter where they are.

As there are a growing number of mobile payments options available, these business owners have a choice and can make the selection that is best for them. Among the strongest players at the moment are PayPal Here, GoPayment, Square, and Intuit.

Often, they involve the use of a small device (sometimes called a dongle), which is typically provided for free and that plugs into the audio jack of the smartphone or tablet. This allows credit cards to be swiped so that the mobile payments transaction can be processed. Though the appeal for these services did start with individuals selling at farmers markets and other similar locations, it is starting to work its way into traditional point of sale locations on an increasing basis.

This is because it allows the small business owner to be able to accept credit cards without having to deal with a bank, and it provides a number of options that are more affordable and convenient than those that are otherwise available. Mobile payments also often come with a number of different types of loyalty tools, and the fees for accepting the transactions are generally lower than the usual form of credit card purchase.