eCommerce on the Go

   Small businesses are no longer just your mom and pop stores down the block.  Today there are more than 28 million small businesses in the U.S. and over 22 million are self-employed with no additional payroll or employees (these are known as nonemployers).  SBA.gov states that approximately 75% of all U.S. businesses are nonemployer businesses and 52% of all small businesses are home-based.  So what’s the best and easiest way to collect on revenues when you’re based at home?  Technologies such as Paypal, squares, and many other similar systems allow these small businesses to collect payments on the go or at home offices with ease, possibly beginning the extinction of checks.

   As many of you already know, especially if you have ever used eBay, Paypal is a money transfer system that for a small fee allows payments to be made online.  Initially it was set up only to send money between buyer and seller for eBay transactions.  However, Paypal has evolved and now operates separately from eBay, expecting to process $20 billion in mobile payments in 2013 per their site.  It offers both personal and business use, accepting payments by credit or debit cards, bank accounts, prepaid paypal account balances, and most recently financing.  Because of its ease in usage and safety features, Paypal never shares financial information, it has become a global leader in its industry.  Check it out at www.paypal.com.

   Since Paypals inception, many other sites have followed suit.  Square, Inc. puts accepting credit cards right in your own hands allowing you to process payments on your smartphone.  The free downloadable application allows a person to manually accept credit or debit card payments, or with a small device you attach to your phone or iPad you can swipe a card and have the funds deposited into your account the very next day.  There are no monthly fees or set up cost, just a 2.75% fee on card transactions.  The attachable credit card reader can be purchased almost anywhere and has a onetime purchase cost of about $10.  The application itself resembles a cash register, is easy to use, and even has a screen for your customer to sign their name using their finger.  You can download the free application from the App Store or Google Play.

   Electronic transfers are nothing new and have been around for quite some time. However, you no longer have to drag yourself to the local currency exchange to send or receive money.  eCommerce has sent small businesses soaring.  And with nonemployers averaging $44K in revenues, it is an industry that will continue to grow and evolve.