Accepting payments via tablets and smartphones is becoming the norm as of late. It seems like you can’t go to a trade show or concert without running into either a Square or PayPal mobile credit card scanner when purchasing food or other products. Because of this, Groupon has decided to get in on the fun by launching their own mobile payment app as well a credit card reader. This functionality was already available to those who participated in the San Francisco-area pilot program, but is now available to all via the Groupon Merchants app. As of now this app is only available on the iPhone and iPod touch.
So, what makes the Groupon payment app so special? They’ve decided to make their per swipe rates lower than those of Square. If a user swipes a Discover, MasterCard or Visa card, the merchant will only be charged 1.8 percent of the sale and a $0.15 fee while American Express cards will be charged at 3.0 percent with a $0.15 fee. This undercuts Square’s 2.75 percent per transaction fee. Keep in mind that the fees are slightly higher if the credit card number is typed in manually.
Will this bring Groupon out of the graveyard? Let’s hope.
Source: Groupon Blog
