5 reasons why merchants will turn to mPoS devices (as opposed to using wallets)

Niranj Sangal, Group CEO, OMA Emirates Group.

mPoS (Mobile Point of Sale) solutions have been used for a while now, however, with the digitisation of currency being pushed by the government after demonetisation, device manufacturers have received a significant boost. Alongside mPoS devices, e-wallets have also seen high adoption rates and its convenience is what keeps customers and vendors hooked.

Recently, MobiSwipe had announced that they are looking to deploy more than 50,000 mPoS devices targeting retail and e-commerce sector. Since mobile-wallets have caught the market and user base has increased significantly, why would vendors turn to mPOS devices instead of wallets? Here’s 5 reasons, according to Niranj Sangal, Group CEO, OMA Emirates Group:

1. With wallets it is essential for the merchant and the buyer to be on the same platform – I.e. both parties need to have an account with the same wallet. With numerous wallets now available in the market there is high tendency that buyers and sellers be on different platforms. This make PoS and mPoS a more preferred choice by merchants over wallets.

2. Digital wallets need to have funds transferred to them in order to carry out transactions unless the funds are being received from another user. Considering there is a capof Rs. 20,000 that can be transferred to each account on a monthly basis for non KYC customers, the number of transactions that can be carried out get restricted unlike mPoS. This also leaves little scope when it comes to transacting with higher amounts.

3. mPoS converts a mobile device in to a PoS terminal with a simple add on. Considering the ease of use with mobile devices these days, mPoS becomes more flexible and simple to process payments. Moreover, it does not require a buyer to set up any external account or to download any app. All the infrastructure resides with the merchant who is well trained and equipped to process transactions.

4. Transacting directly through a source account rather than a third party account is always recommended and mPoS does exactly this unlike a wallet. It makes for a better statement of accounts.

5. mPoS is more mobile and versatile in nature. With the technology that mPoS brings along today, it makes for a better customer experience. For instance – the contactless technology does not require one to dip a card in the mPoS terminal or the fact that today one can self check out with an mPoS in a supermarket instead of standing in never ending queues.