Tap to mobile makes contactless payments accessible to all

In recent blogs, we’ve discussed the value that tap to mobile can provide to SMB merchants and customers alike. Indeed, according to a recent NMI survey of 300 small business owners and 1,000 consumers in the U.S. and U.K., there’s strong support from both groups, making TTM a technology that should be on your radar in 2022. Here are just a few lessons from the survey worth considering.

How well do your payment solutions address SMB pain points?

If you’re unfamiliar with Tap to Mobile, the payments technology turns everyday smartphones into functional payment acceptance devices within minutes. This enables cash-strapped SMBs and micro-merchants who cannot afford expensive payment terminals to accept contactless payments from contactless-enabled cards and devices like phones, wearables and tablets.

According to the survey, when it comes to SMB owners’ challenges setting up their payment systems, the most significant challenges all pertained to onboarding, including paying for the system and system setup (47%), setting up the system equipment and hardware (46%) and training employees how to use the system (39%).

Additionally, there was common ground between cash-only and non-cash respondents — both groups were concerned about transaction fees and hardware costs. For example, when asked what would convince them to move away from using their mobile card reader system to a new system for processing mobile payments, SMBs with mobile card readers said the top factors were less expensive hardware (49%) and less expensive transaction fees (47%). Comparatively, when asked why they are a cash-only business, more than half of the cash-only SMB respondents (52%) said they don’t want to pay expensive transaction fees for credit card purchases, and more than a third (36%) also cited expensive payment systems hardware and equipment.

Transaction fees aren’t going away. And while it’s understandable why some merchants want to lower operational costs with a cash-only business model, going cash-only comes with costs as well (more on that in our next blog).

Given the challenge of hardware expenses across cash-only and non-cash-only businesses, tap to mobile can help SMBs and micro-merchants cut down on these costs and offset the impact of transaction fees. In addition, most SMB owners and employees, as well as micro-merchants, already own smartphones — making the devices an accessible gateway to accepting payments with tap to mobile.

Get ahead of the tap to mobile curve

NMI expects TTM to be a game-changer and catalyst in democratizing payments. While SMBs and micro-merchants will undoubtedly benefit, larger merchants will also find appeal in the ability to affordably roll out secure mobile checkout solutions as needed. While TTM requires a smartphone or similar device to operate, it also requires a payments partner who supports TTM.

NMI is on the cutting edge of tap to mobile. Whether you are a software developer or payment solution provider, NMI is prepared to serve as a trusted partner and help deliver tap to mobile to your customers in 2022. Contact us today to learn more.

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