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PNC Bank early Wednesday announced the launch of PNC Mobile Accept, a card-acceptance solution for micro-merchants. The app allows very small merchants to accept card payments using their mobile phones or tablet computers without a requirement for external hardware and without paying monthly subscription fees, the bank says.
The app also allows micro-merchants to digitally send receipts, accept tips, manage sales tax, and issue refunds. Card receipts are deposited into the merchant’s PNC business account. PNC defines micro-merchants as merchants or small businesses that generate less than $300,000 in card receipts per year and that have an average transaction size less than $1,000.
PNC developed the app to provide micro-merchants easier access to card-acceptance solutions. Such technology is not readily available to them because of hardware costs, monthly fees, or implementational complexity, the bank says.
“PNC identified a gap in the market for a simple, secure, and affordable way to accept card payments, specifically for micro and part-time business owners,” Matt Evans, head of PNC merchant services for small businesses, says by email. “PNC Mobile Accept was developed to meet this underserved segment with a bank-backed, mobile-based solution that enables in-person payments without a monthly service fee.”
Acceptance fees for micro-merchants—a category includes service providers, mobile professionals, vendors at markets or pop-ups, independent contractors, and early-stage entrepreneurs—are 2.60% plus 10 cents for pay card transactions that are swiped or dipped into a card reader, and 3.45% plus 15 cents for manually entered card transactions, according to the PNC Web site.
Cardholder data are encrypted to protect against fraud. Hardware requirements for merchants are an iPhone or iPad or Android mobile devices. Payments are processed by Tempus Technologies Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of PNC Bank.
“Traditional payment solutions are typically built for larger businesses with high transaction volumes and the infrastructure to support complex hardware setups or ongoing fees,” Evans says. “Micro-businesses often lack the scale to absorb those costs or the operational needs to justify them. PNC Mobile Accept is a flexible, pay-as-you-go solution that eliminates those barriers, making it easier for micro business owners to accept secure, professional payments from a financial institution they already trust.”
