Five tips for taking mobile payments from inside your app

Back in 2008 when the Apple App Store began, there were a mere 800 apps available for download. Fast forward ten years and there are over two million apps on the Apple App Store and approximately 8 million in the Google Play store. Thousands of mobile apps are being published to Google Play and Apple App Store daily, but are the ones geared toward e-commerce or requiring continual payments optimized for that particular customer experience?

Mobile apps and e-commerce have taken the world by storm. As more and more retail giants implement their own apps for business, e-commerce has changed the way that people shop. Mobile apps changed how shopping was done, as studies have shown that users are opting for mobile retail apps rather than even going to mobile websites. The point is, people are now accustomed to making payments online and through apps, so they have a set of expectations for how that experience should play out.

When it comes to integrating payments into an app, here are some key things to remember:

Keep Users Safe - Make sure you are using a secure mobile payment gateway. Choose a partner wisely. Many companies may provide an easy-to-use SDK for integration, but you’ll want to ensure that the company providing the SDK is trustworthy, reliable and fast. Seconds can be an eternity for some fraudsters, so you want to be sure that a consumer’s credit card information is being encrypted at the very moment it is run.

Display the Payment Breakdown Throughout the Experience - We are human and mistakes can happen when a user accidentally enters the same product twice or they did not realize that they opted for next-day shipping instead of ground. The last thing they want is to realize the mistake after payment has been finalized, so be sure to display the order details and total price on the screen at all times. Be sure your users know exactly what is in their order and where it is being sent.

Research and Test - Creating the best user experience on the payment screen can only be done by using a combination of app analytics, user feedback, user-experience research and some self-testing. Making informed decisions about your payment experience, including the information displayed on screen and its level of simplicity, is best obtained by qualitative analytics. Implement session recordings of test user’s behavior on your app to gain insight into their experience. Obstacles will make themselves apparent during this testing process and allow you to make necessary adjustments for an optimized payment experience.

Many Devices = Many Experiences - With the incredible variety and sizes of mobile devices out on the market today, user experience issues will come in many shapes and sizes. You need to test to make sure every device can display the payment screen and its various elements properly. You especially want to determine where buttons appear to proceed through the checkout process in order to ensure it’s easy for the user from the start of the order to the culminating confirmation of payment.

K.I.S.S. - You’ve probably heard this used in many instances throughout your life, even back to when your elementary teacher first told it to you, but keep things simple. “Keep it simple, stupid” is the saying, and you need to apply it to your app checkout. A user shouldn’t have to spend more than a minute to input their information to complete a transaction. The longer it takes, the more likely the user is to get aggravated by the experience and change their mind about a purchase. Having the field selection automatically move in correct order, from one field to another after information is entered, can help save a few extra taps and time. You can also ensure the payment screen automates to the format of the user’s credit card number by placing spaces or dashes automatically, and make it so the appropriate keyboard appears for the user based on the field they’re in.

The payment process can leave a lasting impression on the user regarding their overall shopping experience. If your app has done its job by providing the right information, offering enticing items for purchase and encouraging the user to make a selection, then you don’t want to fall flat as customers enter the home stretch. Complete the process by delivering a well-researched, properly tested and simple payment experience. Your success during the payment process will not only result in a momentary win, but you’ll also create repeat customers and brand advocates to help your success continue to grow.