A pay-by-phone app can be a great way for a business to simplify the payment process for its customers, to make shopping quicker and more convenient, and to reward its most loyal clientele with discounts and other incentives. Done correctly, a quality app can increase your sales and improve customer satisfaction, leading to higher profits and increased loyalty. There are several features that many of the best pay-by-phone apps have in common, and they should all be considered necessary to make sure your app thrives and sets your business apart in today’s crowded marketplace.

Great Usability

If it can’t get done in a few swipes or taps, your app is likely to fail. Complicated user interfaces can frustrate customers and make them abandon your app before they can learn to appreciate its benefits. By making sure your app is intuitive and easy to use, you can keep your customers interested and using the app, increasing sales. For day to day use, keep the interface as simple as possible to use, limiting choices such as payment options to only what is necessary, and put the more complicated or less frequently used options in a secondary “Settings” area.

Cross-Platform Compatibility

To be useful, your app must be available to the widest variety of customers. At a minimum, this means your app should be compatible with iPhones and Android devices, but you should also consider making it available for users of other platforms, such as Widows Phone or BlackBerry, as well. To make cross-platform use consistent, you should try to keep the user interface and options as similar as possible between platforms and avoid using system-specific features that are not replicated on other platforms.

Usage of Embedded Hardware

Phones with near-field communication ability or quality cameras can be used to enhance the payment and shopping experience. When available, your pay-by-phone app should take advantage of NFC to process payments, allowing the transaction to be completed with a simple tap of the phone. This makes the process easier for both your business and your customer, and ensures a secure transaction. Your app can also enhance the shopping experience by using the device’s camera to process bar orders or QR codes, allowing more information about a product to be displayed, or adding a product to a digital cart to be purchased. With better product information and an easier check-out process, customers will likely frequent a business more often and spend more money.

Plenty of Payment Options

Customers prefer a wide range of options when it comes to payment options. A good pay-by-phone app should have several payment options, such as multiple credit cards, at least one bank account, PayPal or another Internet payment system and a prepaid account option. This makes it easy for your customers to supply payment and reduces the chances of declined payments and the hassles that go along with them. The app should also make it simple to switch between payment options at will, and to add or remove options when necessary.

Rewards Program

By adding a rewards program to your app, you can make your customers feel more appreciated, which will encourage repeat visits and increase sales. Programs like percentage discounts, loyalty bonuses and free products are easy to incorporate into your app and will further increase its adoption and usage amongst your customers, since they will receive something tangible in return.

Extra Information

In addition to improving the shopping and payment experiences, your pay-by-phone app should also offer a wide variety of helpful information to your customers. This can include location information and directions, which can be tied to the device’s GPS unit, store hours, contact information and full information about all of your products. This data can be extremely valuable to your customers and make the shopping experience much more convenient.

With these important features, your pay-by-phone app will have the basics to make it a convenient and popular payment option for your customers. As usage of your app increases, and more features are added, you should see improvements in both your sales figures and your profits.