It is increasingly common to pay by credit or debit card. Especially because online sales are increasing more and more and as for physical payments, card payments are also increasing because many people prefer not to carry money with them. But when it comes time to collect, Did you know that there is a way to charge with a card but rather a POS?
Next, we are going to talk to you about what this method is, if it is recommended and the risks it may have for your store and for your customers themselves.
What is a POS
The acronym POS corresponds to point of sale terminal and it is a system in which online or physical stores can manage sales and collections for their transactions. In other words, we talk about a program with which payments can be made for the purchase of those products or services offered to customers.
In the POS there are two important elements:
- On the one hand, we have the physical components that would be the screen, the printer and the card reader.
- On the other hand, we have the management program which controls the products, sales volume and inventory.
Another name by which the POS is known is the dataphone. And in the case of online stores, the POS they use, since it cannot be physical, is a virtual one that is usually given by the banks themselves.
Options to charge by card without POS
When it comes to charging with a card without a POS, there are different technologies that can be applied. In fact, we have already told you about one of them, the virtual POS.
However, there are others that you should know:
mobile POS
The mobile POS is an application that transforms the phone or tablet into a dataphone. To do this, you only need three elements: the device, the application and an Internet connection.
Payment links
Payment links can be sent by SMS or email to customers so that they can click on it and make the payment.
The link will take you to a payment platform where you will only have to enter your information and authorize payment for that product or service you have purchased.
QR codes
Finally, You also have the QR codes that are actually links only, instead of appearing as they normally would, these are unique little figures that are created to be scanned and sent to that person directly to the link.
The user must scan that code and access the page where the link is hidden within the code. Once there you will only have to enter your payment information and authorize the purchase.
The risks of paying by card without POS
Although it is very good to charge with cards at POS, the truth is that those people who dare to make payments in this correct way have a lot of cybersecurity risks.
In fact, It is not one of the best payment methods that you should offer in your ecommerce Since, although right now it is a trend and fashion among payments, the truth is that it can cause many problems in the future.
As we have told you before, how to charge with a card without POS means sending a link via email or an SMS to your mobile phone to make that payment. But at the same time you are risking:
- Fraudulent links. That is, your clients may receive links to transactions that have nothing to do with you but have your name and they think they are paying you when in reality they are being scammed out of their money.
- Theft of personal information. Through these payment links, cybercriminals can impersonate your identity and obtain your clients' data to commit any crime.
- Malware on mobile. Or in other words, the appearance of programs on mobile devices that could be used with personal and private data of that person.
Is it better to charge with a card without a POS or with a POS?
For everything we have told you before, the answer to the heading of this part of the article is clear to us. It is always better to have a POS to make payments.
The POS is actually a complete software that makes it easy to charge customers and at the same time gives them a layer of security to prevent their data from being exposed, whether personal data or bank details.
The decision on whether to offer payment by card without a POS in your ecommerce is feasible or not up to you. You must review the risks as well as the benefits and possibilities for your clients to use this form of payment. Even so, It would also be advisable to notify the clients themselves of the drawbacks of this method..