PayPal has been making a lot of headlines recently with their PayPal Here Mobile Point of Sale System for iPhone’s, iPad’s and Android smartphones.

Ever since Square-Up (Square) came on the scene, the credit card processing industry has been turned upside down.  Finally a more convenient and less expensive way to swipe and process credit cards has been made available to businesses both large and small.

PayPal Here emerged on the scene a few short months ago and has had a great reception from the general public.  Obviously the initial influx of customers was from PayPal’s own database but the word is quickly spreading.

Thanks to Square and others such as Intuit and now PayPal Here, the popular zero monthly fee and zero type transaction fee Flat Rate merchant account plans have proliferated and gained wide acceptance from the general public.

However, we hear many customers ask if there is an add-on to these plans so that a business can also process credit cards through their computer on the same merchant plan.  With Square, Intuit and others the answer is NO.  PayPal Here does have a slight advantage in that they have the popular PayPal Virtual Terminal which allows a business to process credit cards manually through this web portal and then also with the Dell VT swipe added on. A business can swipe the credit card through the device into the virtual terminal.  Unfortunately there are some drawbacks to this system.  First, a user has to subscribe to PayPal’s Website Payments Pro which carries a steep thirty dollar ($30.00) monthly fee.  Secondly, with the Dell swipe “add on”, there are some restrictions.  The system can not easily be used on a MAC computer nor can it accept American Express payments.  There are also other drawbacks such as the inability to print receipts directly from the virtual terminal and should you lose internet, you will be completely “out of business”

Fortunately there is another solution that can be used to process credit cards with PayPal more efficiently than the Dell VT swiper system so a customer can still keep all their credit card processing with one PayPal account should they desire that.  The USBSwiper system was developed back in 2008 as the first credit card swiper system for PayPal.  It operates using a software interface for PayPal Virtual Terminal and uses the Website Payments Pro API’s which means that transactions done through this system will actually get a cheaper rate (PayPal charges less for transactions done through Website Payments Pro) than the rate Virtual Terminal offers with the Dell swiper.  Also, because it is software based, even if you lose internet connection, you will be able to take all transaction and customer details and retain in the software for processing when internet returns.  Also, the software has the ability to print beautiful customized receipts either on a regular 8.5 x 11 printer or on a small portable thermal receipt printer that is also offered by USBSwiper. One additional benefit that this software provides is the ability to process transactions using a bar code scanner.  The flexibility of the USBSwiper software makes this a truly unique inexpensive point of sale system for a computer user to be able to process credit cards using the popular PayPal system.

In addition to all of the above, USBSwiper also offers an all in one solution High Volume Merchant Account Plan ($5K plus/mo. that allows a user to process credit cards through a mobile device such as an iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, an Android smartphone, a computer (whether it be a Windows operating system or a MAC) and also can be used for a shopping cart on a website all at the same ultra-low processing rates.  There are 3 rate plans one can choose from and as mentioned the rates are the same whether processing on a smart device or a computer.  The costs are also much less expensive than the PayPal Here add-on product as the monthly fee for the all-in-one solution is only $6.95 versus $30 for virtual terminal and the transaction rates are lower as well.

However if you are just interested in a mobile plan, USBSwiper also offers a rate plan that is cheaper than the rate for PayPal Here and also has no monthly fee and zero transaction fees except for keyed transactions.  PayPal Here charges 2.70% transaction rate for swiped transactions and 3.50% plus 15 cents for keyed transactions. USBSwiper’s High Volume plan ($5k plus per month) for smartphones and tablets is as low as 0.74% for swiped qualified cards plus 22 cents per transaction and for lower volume merchants our plan is 2.69% for qualifed swiped transactions.  As mentioned earlier, these plans are also able to be tied in to a businesses website so that a business owner can truly have an all encompassing single merchant account for all their payment processing needs and it’s all for only $5.00 per month!

Another benefit to the MobileSwiper system is that not only is the mobile credit card reader device free for the first device, but for the Android phones, MobileSwiper uses a MagTek Bluetooth swiper that works on all Android devices.  There is a common problem with many smartphone mobile plans in that the credit card readers that use the audio jack are only compatible with a few Android phones.  This is the same problem with PayPal Here.  MobileSwiper has solved that problem with the utilization of the Magtek Bluetooth credit card reader.

MobileSwiper will also be releasing its own version of mobile software which will also work with PayPal so that a business can use PayPal in conjunction with MobileSwiper and USBSwiper in an all-in-one solution through the current website payments pro API. So for businesses that want to stay with PayPal can also have one single merchant account for not only mobile but also their computer AND website payment processing. While there still is the $30.00 fee for website payments pro, this makes using the PayPal system much more viable in terms of flexibility for a business that wants to stay with PayPal for all their payment processing.

If you are seeking either an add-on for PayPal Here or a complete switch to what is most likely a less expensive plan, check out the USBSwiper MobileSwiper plan.

There are a lot of ways to process credit cards electronically these days.  You can process them through a web portal, a terminal connected to a telephone line, a laptop or desktop computer using an internet connection or through a smartphone type device whether it be through an iPhone, an iPad, or an Android.

Other than the telephone line program all the other methods use some type of wireless technology to transmit the credit card data to the credit card processing company.  Also, there seems to be a shift away from the expense of having an added telephone line for this data transmission as most businesses these days have internet at their business location.  Also with the proliferation of smartphone devices, the wireless technology of transmitting the data through a mobile carrier such as AT&T or Verizon has become the newest Fad.  Keep in mind however that to use this technology for wireless credit card processing, higher bandwidth with more expense data plans is typically required.

There are some limitations to any of these programs in that most merchant account providers only offer one type of technology to be used with a single merchant account.  You are typically forced to use their merchant account for your wireless credit card processing with only one device type.  So if you are looking to process credit cards on a mobile device but then also want to process credit card on your computer as well, you are forced to buy into two different merchant account plans which is not only an extra expense but also requires you to reconcile transactions from two different places.  This is an extra cost as well as labor intensive.

USBSwiper.com / MobileSwiper.com bring all that to an end.  By offering a single merchant account that allows you to combine ALL your devices and wireless credit card processing transactions through one portal, you save on both time and money and can spend your precious resources doing what you do best… your business.

And NO – you wont have to pay more for this service!  We have been able to negotiate rates and plans for wireless credit card processing that are not only less expensive than those offered by some of the top names in the business such as Square, PayPal and Intuit, but we also offer you more than a single flat rate option that may not be the best choice for your business.  USBSwiper / MobileSwiper offers 3 different plans that you can use all your devices on to insure that you have the most flexible and best wireless credit card processing system in the industry.

Whether you are just opening a new business, are shopping for newer technology for your credit card processing, or are looking to save more money than your current plan, we have a wireless credit card processing plan that will not only meet your needs but will exceed them.  Look hard at the USBSwiper and MobileSwiper system and we know once you do, you will be a fan.

See all our rate plans and choose the one best for you.