Like most merchants today, you are no doubt quite familiar with cell phone payment apps. These are apps like PayPal, Google Pay and Venmo that allow your customers to pay for your products and services right from their mobile devices.

The ease and convenience of these apps have made them quite popular. But more recently there has been another cell phone payment option that is fast gaining favor among American consumers. It's called text-to-pay.

Text-to-pay is a payment format that utilizes the text messaging feature found on your customers' cell phones. That's different from payment apps, which are accessed through the web browser on your customers' mobile devices.

Here's how text-to-pay works: first, your customer opts into receiving from you what is called an SMS message—for short message service. An SMS is a text message. The customer chooses to receive this text by agreeing to share with you their billing information.

Once you have this information, you can then send your bill directly by text. They can then respond in kind to your texted bill with their own text reply. This reply can trigger a charge to the payment method on file. Alternatively, they can opt to pay their bill online by clicking a link provided.

Why would a customer choose to receive a bill by text? For one thing, it's uncomplicated. There's no need to deal with any third-party apps. And second, it's fast, especially when it comes to paying for any purchases. Once a customer's payment information is within your billing system, your customer can pay for their purchases by just pressing a few buttons on their mobile device.

Providing more of the seamless shopping experience your customers demand

If there is one thing customers have come to expect in the last few years, it's simplicity. Text-to-pay is another way merchants can simplify the lives of their customers. It's a paperless experience after all. No need for writing checks or stuffing envelopes. And no need for stamps. Better still, text-to-pay can be used for more than just paying bills. It's a better way for you to send your customers reminder notices.

Meanwhile the advantages text-to-pay offers to merchants like you can't be understated. This begins with the fact that making it easier for your customers to pay their bills also makes it a whole lot easier for you to be sure you get paid. When a customer is notified on their phone of a payment and then is given a very easy way to make that payment through text-by-pay, studies show such customers are more likely to make that payment AND make it on time.

And just as text-to-pay saves your customers from all the hassles of manual paper payments, it also means less mailing and printing costs for you. And it saves you time. Time saved is more time you can spend on other things—like creating even more ways to enhance the customer experience.

The entire experience is a more personal one with your customers. It suggests you are directly engaged and responsible for providing your customers with the most positive shopping experience possible.

And in the end, it never hurts to give your customers options. Providing options means you are thinking about the needs of your customers first. And customers respect that. It leads to happier customers. And happier customers leads to repeat sales.

About Qualpay

Qualpay is a fully-integrated payments platform that utilizes the most up to date technology to reduce costs and streamline back-office operations. Its comprehensive system addresses and resolves the payment challenges businesses face, ensuring a stronger, more robust infrastructure that allows companies to focus on growing their business. Qualpay's reporting intelligence and data analytics allow customers to quickly and efficiently manage their payment finances, saving them both time and money. Simply put, Qualpay provides a better way to manage payments. For more information, please visit www.qualpay.com.