Turn your mobile phone into a POS machine

Imagine a busy weekend market with customers crowding around a stall. Each customer picks their items, but needs to wait in a long line to pay. Because this type of merchant mainly accepts cash, some grow impatient and leave without buying, while the busy stall owner struggles between collecting cash and giving change. This is not only inefficient but also error-prone, resulting in missed sales opportunities.

With a mobile POS, however, things would be much easier. The stall owner simply uses their phone to accept payments, even from around the stall. 

This not only speeds up the payment process but also provides a convenient option for customers, enabling the stall owner to seize every sales opportunity.

This article will introduce the benefits of mobile POS and explain how to turn your phone into a mobile POS terminal with the Silkpay app, enhancing merchant efficiency while meeting the diverse payment needs of consumers.

What is a mobile POS system?

A mobile POS (mPOS) is a solution that enables payment collection functionality on mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets. By combining a phone or tablet with a specific app, accessories (like card readers or scanners), or software system, mobile POS allows merchants to complete payment and manage transactions anytime. Mobile POS systems support multiple payment methods, meeting the diverse payment needs of customers. It has become an ideal choice for small merchants, offering a lightweight, efficient payment solution.

Why use the mobile POS?

No technical knowledge integration

The installation process usually involves just a few steps: Open a Silkpay account, get the login credentials, download the app, and start accepting payments, with no complex configuration or technical support required. 

Meanwhile, the mobile POS system's interface, such as Silkpay’s, is simple and intuitive, allowing even first-time users to quickly master it.

Cost-effective

The mobile POS is especially suitable for merchants with limited space and budget, helping them save costs. Traditional POS machines usually require dedicated hardware, which has a high initial purchase cost and additional expenses for maintenance and upgrades later on.

Mobile POS is different; merchants simply need to download and use a secure app to meet all their payment needs without purchasing additional hardware. 

Adapted for all types of businesses 

Mobile POS combines flexibility and portability, making it the ideal choice for merchants with high mobility. It is especially suitable for scenarios requiring frequent movement, such as outdoor markets, food trucks, and pop-up shops. Unlike traditional POS machines that are restricted to fixed locations, mobile POS supports payment anywhere, which is critical for merchants conducting outdoor or temporary activities. 

How can Silkpay help you take mobile POS payments?

Our mobile POS is fully software-based. You only need to install the Silkpay app, and you can accept payments through your smartphone. 

Silkpay app supports the following payment methods and functions:

Alipay and WeChat Pay QR code payments

Silkpay app supports two major QR code payment methods: Alipay and WeChat Pay. 

Merchants can choose to scan the customer’s QR code or generate a payment QR code for the customer to scan, providing great convenience for both merchants and customers.

Alipay and WeChat Pay are widely used in China, but have also gained popularity in other countries in recent years. 

As for now, Alipay has over 1.2 billion global users, and WeChat Pay has around 1 billion. Accepting these two payment methods not only attracts more international customers, expanding the customer base, but also increases transaction speed and efficiency, bringing merchants greater sales opportunities and providing customers with a better payment experience.

A single Alipay or WeChat Pay sticker on your storefront can instantly attract steady foot traffic to your stores.

UnionPay Yunshanfu QR code payments

Currently, UnionPay’s payment network covers 183 countries and regions, with significant market share growth in Asia, Europe, and North America. Its acceptance among global users continues to rise.

Additionally, UnionPay’s “Yunshanfu” mobile payment has further strengthened its position among young users and in the digital payment market. 

By accepting UnionPay Yunshanfu, merchants can further expand their customer base and drive business growth.

PaybyLink

With PaybyLink, merchants can generate a payment link and send it to customers via SMS, email, or social platforms. 

Customers only need to click the link to complete an online payment. This method is especially useful for remote transactions, bookings, or scenarios requiring follow-up payments, greatly expanding merchants' possibilities for contactless transactions.

Get access to a real-time transaction history

Our app also supports real-time transaction history viewing, allowing merchants to query detailed information for each transaction, including transaction time, payment method, amount, and more. 

This feature helps merchants with better accounting management, facilitating reconciliation and analysis, and improving financial management efficiency.

Refund 

Our mobile POS allows merchants to quickly process refunds for customers. This function not only improves customer service efficiency but also enhances merchants' after-sales management capabilities, helping them build strong customer relationships.

Silkpay provides merchants in Europe and the Americas with omnichannel payment solutions, helping you expand customer base and complete payments easily. We also offer robust customer support, if you encounter any issues during operation, we will provide detailed solutions to support your business.

Conclusion

Mobile POS systems offer modern merchants a flexible and efficient payment solution. With it, merchants can conveniently accept payments at minimal cost and handle various business scenarios.

The Silkpay app can easily turn a merchant's phone into a POS machine, providing secure and diverse payment methods, including Alipay, WeChat, UnionPay Yunshanfu, and PaybyLink. Whether in-store or at outdoor markets, Silkpay’s mobile POS system offers strong support for merchants, helping them seize every valuable sales opportunity and drive business growth.

About the author: Silkpay

Based in Paris, Silkpay provides omnichannel and secure payment solutions to help physical stores and e-commerce in Europe and the Americas accept more than 30 of the world's most popular payment methods: Visa, Mastercard, CB, UnionPay, Alipay+, WeChat Pay as well as Asia-Pacific’s major e-wallets.

Silkpay is a winner of the LVMH Innovation Award. The company was also selected as a finalist for the "Money 20/20" Best Startup and in the "MPE Berlin” Startup Awards. Silkpay also won the "Best Fintech" awards from Capgemini and BPCE.

Silkpay helps merchants deliver the smoothest payment experience to their customers. We are a talented and international team driven by a single goal: to improve the customer experience and make payments simple and secure.