Mobile Payments Brighten Cash Flow for Small Business

One of the biggest worries for small-business owners is dealing with fluctuations in cash flow. Nathan Perry's five-year-old New York City catering business has had to operate with up to $30,000 in unpaid customer invoices at any given time, for instance.

Such gaps in cash flow—or so-called "lumpy money"—can make it difficult for business owners to focus on expansion rather than, say, managing payrolls or paying other bills.

"When someone tells you the check is in the mail, it doesn't mean anything," adds Mr. Perry, owner of the Cutting Edge Elite in New York, which has five full-time employees and 400 servers and bartenders.

He and many other business owners say they're finding that mobile-payment devices and other technologies are making it easier for him and other business owners to turn sales into working capital overnight. Instead of issuing an invoice after a job, Mr. Perry now has customers pay on the spot, by asking them to use a mobile-payment service. Mr. Perry pays a $35 per month and about 2.5% per transaction for the service.

Until recently, small service companies, from caterers, to plumbers to photographers, had few options beyond billing customers and then waiting for days, or even weeks or months, for a check to arrive in the mail. Typical payment terms range from 30 to 90 days.

Flint mobile payment system replaces card readers with iPhone's camera

Flint (AppStore) is taking on the bigger players in the mobile payment market with a new credit card payment product that doesn't rely on a card reader like Square, PayPal and other competitors. Instead, the app uses image recognition algorithms to read the numbers off of a card's face and process a transaction that way.

"It doesn't take a picture of the card," Flint CEO Greg Goldfarb tells me, anticipating my question. "It just reads the numbers, and we do that to protect consumer privacy."

The system Flint created is nifty and well-realized, especially for a first-time app developer. Flint allows users to link an account to their business' Facebook page. Customers will then have the option to share testimonials directly to a business' page, as well as to their own wall.

Aside from the app (currently an iOS-exclusive), Flint also maintains a web portal, allowing users to run analytics on their sales and to target customers for additional communications.

It will be interesting to see how the app fares against the competition. The number recognition feature works quickly, but it still feels a step slower than simply swiping a card. The tradeoff, though, is that a retailer doesn't have to pay for a card reader dongle and can start accepting payments very quickly after downloading the free app.

"We've had people going from downloading the app from the App Store to processing their first transaction, literally, in two or five minutes," Goldfarb said.

Thoughts on Three Potentially Disruptive Companies at MacWorld

Flint allows mobile devices to accept credit cards without the need for a card reader or additional hardware. A person can just use their phone or tablet to take a picture of the credit card numbers to receive payment. It could be disruptive to companies such as Square, PayPal or anyone that requires a separate hardware component to be added to their mobile device.

Flint Adds Unique Customer Management and Enhanced Social Marketing Features to Its Mobile Payments App

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 31, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Flint Mobile, Inc. (www.flint.com), the mobile payments company that enables on-the-go businesses to accept credit or debit card payments through their iPhones without extra card reader hardware, unveiled new social marketing and customer management features at the Macworld/iWorld conference today. Available for free on the Apple App Store®, Flint is the only company in the mobile payments market to offer searchable transaction data for customer marketing as well as customizable Facebook integration to increase word-of-mouth referrals.

Flint's new customer management features allow merchants to easily filter transaction data by a broad set of parameters including the product/service name, purchase date, transaction amount, card type, transaction memo, loyalty offer, and other customizable details. The data can then be downloaded along with customer email addresses and used for marketing and reporting purposes. For example, a photographer could quickly pull a list of all the customers who purchased "Portrait Shoots" in December so that she can send them a special offer for Valentine's Day.

The new release also simplifies how small businesses integrate their Facebook marketing efforts with the payment process. In seconds, a merchant can link their Facebook® Page to their Flint account and enable an online social dashboard. Once linked, the merchant is able to prompt its customers to post ratings and reviews to Facebook from the electronic receipt of every transaction. Flint's seamless integration with Facebook APIs allows a merchant's customers to quickly share recommendations with their friends and simultaneously post a testimonial on the merchant's Facebook Page.

Approximately 13 million local businesses now operate pages on Facebook*, but according to the SMB Group's 2012 Small and Medium Social Business study, many small and medium-sized businesses struggle with Facebook marketing. Sixty-two percent of SMBs cite lack of time as a major roadblock to effective social engagement, with "difficulty integrating social media with other business activities" as another serious hurdle**. Flint offers an easy way to integrate social marketing into payment transactions and, as a result, help merchants generate more customer referrals.

"Flint's mission is to empower small businesses and individual entrepreneurs to easily accept payments and maximize their client relationships—all through a simple, mobile-centric approach," said Greg Goldfarb, co-founder and CEO of Flint Mobile. "We're encouraged by initial user successes and are excited about our roadmap of differentiated, customer-driven capabilities."

Flint Exits Beta To Take On Square With Its Camera-Based Mobile Payment App

Flint, a small business-focused mobile payment app that does away with dongles and NFC and instead uses the camera on a phone to “scan" a card’s numbers, has come out of beta. The iOS 6/ iPhone 5-compatible app is now available to download in the U.S. App Store.

In development for the last 18 months, Flint first launched as an invite-only service in May 2012, at the same time that it announced $3 million in funding from True Ventures and Storm Ventures.

Like Square, PayPal’s here, Sail from Verifone and others, Flint is targeting merchants that, traditionally, have been considered too small to accept card payments, because they do not have a high enough volume of transactions to justify the processing fees and card-reading equipment. Flint says that there are some 17 million businesses in the U.S. alone that fit this profile.

Unlike Square, here and Sail, Flint doesn’t rely on any hardware to do the job, other than what is on the mobile phone itself. That means that future-looking solutions like NFC — the basis for payment solutions from the likes of Isis — are also not necessary for Flint to work today. After a card’s vital numbers are scanned and digitized — the numbers are sent to Flint without being stored on the device — the payment is then authenticated with a zip code and on-screen signature.

In its beta phase, Flint says that it’s already been picking up some decent momentum. It’s had about one thousand merchants from all 50 states sign up to use the service, including photographers, therapists, consultants, fitness trainers, IT professionals and tradespeople. Flint is not yet releasing total merchant numbers or transaction volumes on the app. But Greg Goldfarb, co-founder and CEO of Flint Mobile, says that average transaction size was higher than expected, at “well over $100."

“We feel this reflects the user base being professional service types, consultants, etc. instead of the typical retail merchant (coffee shops, etc.) that Square is in," he added.

“Flint’s mission is to empower everyday small business users who are out and about and who are underserved by other solutions," said Goldfarb in a statement. “We’ve worked very closely with our beta users to develop a compelling app and are excited to make it available to a broader audience."

Apart from not requiring a dongle to work, Flint is hoping to compete against more established mobile payment startups by offering some other advantages. For starters, its commission structure charges 1.95% plus $0.20. Credit card users pay 2.95% plus $0.20. By comparison, Square charges 2.75 percent per swipe. (Manually-entered cards cost 3.5 percent plus $0.15 with Square.) Merchants can activate the service through the app itself, rather than needing to register online.

It’s also offering some services around the transactions themselves. These include social marketing — customers can share business reviews and recommendations on Facebook after making a payment; those can also get posted to a business’ Facebook page. Flint also lets businesses customize receipts, create loyalty offers, program a range of pricing options/menus and include sales tax and tipping. And finally, Flint also offers a kind of online “dashboard" of sorts, where merchants can get an overview of all transaction activity, although there doesn’t seem to be much in the way of analytics around those transactions yet.

For now, the app is iOS-only, but like its competitors, it’s likely that Flint will be rolling out for other platforms soon, and potentially could even work on non-smart devices, given that most feature phones are also equipped with cameras. Goldfarb says that Android is next up with an app coming out in early 2013.

And given that the solution is software-based, you could also see a time when Flint might also consider how it can create an API to embed its service directly into business’ own apps. Indeed, this is something that Flint is already considering. “We are indeed in discussions with a number of potential integration partners," says Goldfarb. “From an overarching point of view we built the platform with potential to embed or white label the solution for partners."

Mobile payment apps eliminates card reader

San Francisco start-up Flint Mobile is launching a hassle-free mobile payments app for the Apple iOS platform after testing the software in an invite-only beta.

The company hopes to differentiate its offering based on two simple things - it doesn't require a separate piece of card-reader hardware accept credit cards, using a phone's scanning and imaging capabilities to capture card information instead; and it doesn't require the small business or retailer to have a pre-existing merchant account. If someone is uncomfortable with the imaging option, you can enter the numbers manually.

The hardware twist may be a bigger deal than many people realize - since small businesses won't have to deal with any incompatibility if they start on on an earlier iPhone platform and then update later to iPhone 5 (which has a different jack configuration).

The software also includes integrated social marketing features, which lets customers submit reviews or recommendations or to post comments on your company's Facebook business page.

"I have tried many other mobile payments apps, but between getting rid of the dongle and making it very easy to customize messaging to my customers right from the phone, Flint has become my preferred debit/credit card processing solution," said Aaron Potratz, a licensed professional counselor in Beaverton, Ore., who has been an early user of the software.

The fees associated with using the app are 1.95 percent plus 20 cents per transaction for debit cards and 2.95 percent plus 20 cents per transaction for credict cards, Flint said. Your account winds up being with Flint; the company said set-up takes a matter of minutes.

Flint Redefines Easy iPhone Payments for On-The-Go Businesses

Flint Mobile, Inc. (www.flint.com) announced at the Under The Radar conference today that its iPhone payments app is now generally available nationwide on the App Store. Flint is designed for people who work outside of traditional retail storefronts and need an easy way to accept credit cards. Many of these businesses are service oriented and have fundamentally different needs to efficiently manage their business on-the-go. Flint is the only mobile app built to specifically to serve this audience and provides three core advantages: 1) Easy credit and debit card processing by scanning the card number instead of needing a card reader accessory; 2) Integrated social marketing; and 3) Customizable business tools to increase customer engagement.

Previously available in an invite-only beta, the app can now be downloaded for free in the Apple App Store. Users can activate their account in minutes through the app or at www.flint.com and immediately realize the full benefits of Flint without waiting to get any additional hardware.

Flint has seen encouraging early results, with customer signups across all fifty states from a wide variety of businesses, such as photographers, therapists, consultants, fitness trainers, computer and IT professionals, caterers, crafts makers, handymen and beauty professionals. Based on US census data, there are approximately 17 million small businesses that fit this profile. Among Flint's current users is Aaron Potratz, a licensed professional counselor in Beaverton, Oregon, who said, "I have tried many other mobile payments apps, but between getting rid of the dongle and making it very easy to customize messaging to my customers right from the phone, Flint has become my preferred debit/credit card processing solution." Founded in 2011, Flint has spent the last 18 months building its platform. The company has integrated with top tier financial services and infrastructure companies to offer a reliable, secure, and scalable product.

Small business owners feel at ease with Flint mobile app

Flint Mobile, Inc. announced its iPhone payments app is now generally available nationwide on the App Store. Flint is designed for people who work outside of traditional retail storefronts and need an easy way to accept credit cards.

Flint's original launch by invitation only subscribers has seen encouraged early results. With customer signups across all fifty states from a wide variety of businesses, such as photographers, therapists, consultants, fitness trainers, computer and IT professionals, caterers, crafts makers, handymen and beauty professionals. Based on US census data, there are approximately 17 million small businesses that fit this profile. Among Flint’s current users is Aaron Potratz, a licensed professional counselor in Beaverton, Oregon, who said, "I have tried many other mobile payments apps, but between getting rid of the dongle and making it very easy to customize messaging to my customers right from the phone, Flint has become my preferred debit/credit card processing solution."

Flint Launches Easy iPhone Payments for On-The-Go Businesses

Flint Mobile has announced that its iPhone payments app is now generally available nationwide on the App Store.

"Flint's mission is to empower everyday small business users who are out and about and who are underserved by other solutions," said Greg Goldfarb, co-founder and CEO of Flint Mobile. "We've worked very closely with our beta users to develop a compelling app and are excited to make it available to a broader audience."

Flint is providing camera-based Mobile POS acceptance (no dongle required) with social network integration.

Best of Finovate

Flint Mobile. Flint is taking on Square by offering mobile payments to small merchants who are anti-dongle (in other words, averse to the plug-in card-swiping gadgets of Square, Intuit and Verizon) and anti-POS terminal. How it works: using the Flint iPhone app, a merchant takes a photo of the portion of the customer's credit card number; Flint's proprietary optical character recognition converts the image snippet to machine-readable text. The image snipped and number are encrypted. The customer types in the card expiration date and CVV code. The customer can also type in their email address to receive an emailed receipt. The merchant can type in a special offer or a note about the transaction or customer for future reference. The transaction is processed by Vantiv; Visa and MasterCard debit and credit cards are accepted. Debit card transactions, at 1.95% plus 20 cents, are cheaper than Square's flat 2.75% fee for all transactions. Flint credit card transactions are more costly at 2.95% plus 20. Flint also aims to help merchants attract customers through social media: the emailed receipt contains a link to a tool the customer can use to recommend the merchant on Facebook.

How close are we to mobile commerce?

June 5, 2012

Depending on your definition, we're already mobile-commerce ready with existing technology. Not only do mobile hardware accessories such as Square provide credit card readers that plug into your mobile devices, but platforms including Flint Mobile also remove the hardware requirement by using your phone's camera to scan the credit card number.

But other products such as Google Wallet, which incorporate Near Field Communications -- a far more secure radio communication from a device like your phone to another device such as a cash register -- are still in limited testing phases. The carrier, device and operating system companies have yet to agree on industry standards for security and privacy protection. So you're not likely to see people waving cell phones in front of your credit card readers in the near future. Still, keep an eye on Google Wallet and other mobile commerce developments.

We have answered some of the basic questions, but there's a lot more to know about mobile marketing before you dive in. Helpful online resources include Google's HowToGoMo.com and the site mobithinking.com, which includes many statistics and insights.

Upstart Flint taps smartphone cameras for mobile payments

May 9, 2012

Many of the mobile payment solutions for accepting credit cards on-the-go rely on separate readers to collect the card information.

A new option from upstart Flint Mobile, which just received $3 million in Series A venture funding, uses your smartphone's camera instead to scan the card number.

Flint's first application is a free iPhone app that lets small-business owners use a smartphone to scan a customer's credit card number using the camera. The merchant is prompted to enter the additional card verification. For security purpose, neither the card image or the associated data is saved on the phone itself, according to Flint Mobile. The application follows PCI DSS guidelines to protect consumer data, the company said.

Flint Mobile is clearly focused on building a following with smaller retailers and companies. It charges 1.95 percent plus 20 cents per transaction for debit card purchases and 2.95 percent plus 20 cents per transaction for credit cards. There are no specific set-up or merchant account costs.

The application also allows merchants or small-business owners to create customized digital receipts for social marketing purposes.

Flint, which is based in Redwood City, Calif., is launching with $3 million in venture capital from Storm Ventures and True Ventures.

Flint: A New Mobile Payment App For Small Businesses Picks Up $3M From Storm, True Ventures

May 9, 2012

Another mobile payments service is hitting the market today, but unlike Square, Here from PayPal, or solutions from the likes of Isis, this one doesn’t require a dongle on the handset — or new technology like NFC — to work. Called Flint, the free app uses the camera on a handset to “scan" the account number from the front of a payment card, and uses that along with a customer signature to process the transaction.

And the company behind the app, Flint Mobile, today also announced that it has raised a Series A round of $3 million from two top-tier VCs, Storm Ventures and True Ventures, which it will use to further product development, hire more people and market the new app.

Flint, which is currently available only as an iPhone app, is one of the more simple-sounding payments apps. It basically works like this: a merchant — typically a small business owner — uses the iPhone’s camera to shoot a picture of the number on the front of a credit card; that picture then gets translated by the app into a digitized number; and a customer signs on the screen of the merchant’s device (using a finger is fine) to authenticate the number and approve the transaction.

The merchant can then use the app to send out a receipt, and also use the transaction as the basis of further “social marketing", for example in the form of posting messages on a users’ Facebook page.

“Essentially, we are starting to turn credit card transaction fees into an investment in online customer engagement," said Greg Goldfarb, co-founder and CEO of Flint Mobile, in a statement. (However, features like Facebook posts presumably will require opting in from the customer to work.)

Flint seems to realize that Square has made strong inroads already among small merchants using iPhones to make payments, and so not only is it trying to compete by making the app less hardware-dependent, but also on transaction fees: for people using debit cards the fees are 1.95 percent plus $0.20; those using credit cards pay 2.95 percent plus $0.20. That sort of splits the different with Square’s dongle pricing, which comes in at 2.75 percent per swipe. (Manually-entered cards cost 3.5 percent plus $0.15 with Square.)

The other area where Flint is perhaps more attractive is that it claims that funds are transferred right away, whereas Square’s processing is next-day.

Flint Mobile Raises $3 Million in Capital for Mobile Payments App

May 9, 2012

Flint Mobile said it has raised $3 million in a first round of capital, and that it is launching its new mobile payments app, which enables merchants to process payments with a mobile phone. But rather than requiring a merchant to buy a card reader, the app allows the merchant to snap a picture of a credit card. The round, which will be used on product development and hiring, was led by Storm Ventures and True Ventures.

Flint Mobile gets $3M for photo-based mobile payments

May 9, 2012

The iPhone app allows merchants to process payments using their phone's camera
The world needs more mobile payment options. Sort of. Really, I'm waiting for the day when someone comes up with a service that will keep my banking information on my phone so that I can shop online and complete a purchase simply by tapping a button. Like Amazon's one-click payment, but for the entire Internet. I know that this is the equivalent of begging the universe for an identity theft crisis, but damn it, I'm willing to risk it.

A new mobile payments startup that launched Wednesday has not brought my dream entirely to fruition, but it's a step closer. Flint Mobile, a mobile payments service for merchants, announced its beta launch today, as well as a $3 million Series A round of funding led by Storm Ventures and True Ventures. You're probably wondering (as I did) what Flint Mobile could possibly be bringing to the table that Square and Google Wallet haven't already covered. The competition is pretty tight. But Flint Mobile is actually offering a pretty interesting solution, at least for the time being. The company's free iPhone app allows merchants to process credit card payments by snapping a photo of a customer's credit card.

I say that this is a good solution for the time being because the future is—according to general consensus-a cardless one. Getting to that point, however, is going to be tricky. Both Square and Google Wallet are still fairly limited in terms of where you can use them, and they require extra hardware that Flint Mobile does away with.

Of course, if someone asked to take a picture of my credit card, I probably wouldn't go for that. But the company says that no images are actually stored on the phone, and the data is protected according to industry PCI DSS guidelines. Flint has also developed its own patent pending methods for protecting customer data. "Flint will be a game changer in the world of mobile payments for small businesses," said Alex Mendez, Founding Managing Director of Storm Ventures, in a statement. "They have created a simple approach that couples payments and social marketing to provide a huge leap forward for the mobile small businesses that form the backbone of our economy. The Flint team consists of seasoned executives who have created market-leading products, and we’re very excited to be teaming up with them."

The company says it will use the new funds to accelerate product development, hiring, and customer acquisition.

Flint Mobile Helps Businesses Acquire Customers through Social Media Marketing

May 9, 2012

Then, Flint Mobile demonstrated how it helps businesses accept credit cards and acquire customers:

"Flint is introducing its first product offering. We will be demoing our end-to-end service that seamlessly integrates easy mobile payments with word of mouth marketing through the biggest social networks."

Flint Mobile Launches Beta

November 15, 2011
At the Finovate conference today, Flint Mobile, Inc. announced the Beta launch of its first offering, a next-generation mobile payments app for small businesses on-the-go, as well as the close of its Series A funding. Flint Co-founder and CEO Greg Goldfarb will introduce the application as part of Finovate’s Demo Session #5 starting at 9:00 am Wednesday local time. Led by Storm Ventures and True Ventures, the $3 million financing will enable Flint to accelerate product development, hiring, and customer acquisition.

Flint’s first product is a free iPhone™ app that enables merchants to easily and securely process credit card payments using only their phone. Unlike existing solutions that require a separate card reader, Flint uses the phone’s camera to process payments without the use of any additional hardware. The company’s proprietary platform provides merchants with unmatched ease of use along with high levels of consumer privacy protection and fraud prevention to help keep processing fees in check. The app also integrates customizable receipts with built-in social marketing tools that enable merchants to better engage with their customers and to tap into online word-of-mouth referrals.

“Flint’s goal is to transform the everyday commerce capabilities of tens of millions of small services businesses and sole proprietors who are highly mobile," said Greg Goldfarb, Co-founder and CEO of Flint Mobile. “Our first product takes the hassle out of on-the-go credit card processing and provides an easy on-ramp to capitalize on social marketing. Essentially, we are starting to turn credit card transaction fees into an investment in online customer engagement."

The U.S. has seen a 70% increase in the number of independent agents in the workforce since 2008*, indicating a shift towards more sole proprietorships that have much different needs from retail operations. These on-the-go business owners insist on simplicity and want a way to accept credit cards without worrying about extra hardware or accessories. Moreover, the number one issue keeping them up at night is how to find new customers.** Flint addresses both these problems by taking the card reader out of the equation and by linking everyday transactions to social media channels to drive word-of-mouth referrals.

Flint Features and Benefits

• Ease of use: no extra hardware required; simply scan the main card number using your phone’s camera and enter card verification info; no data or image is saved on the phone.
• Social marketing: integrated tools that empower and engage customers to easily post reviews and recommendations to popular social media channels such as Facebook; generate more repeat business via customized loyalty offers in every receipt.
• Low transaction fees: 1.95% + $0.20 per transaction for debit cards and 2.95% + $0.20 per transaction for credit cards. Flint is among the first in the mobile category to offer lower debit card fees.
• Frictionless Setup: no merchant account headaches or upfront costs and no waiting to get a card reader.
• Safety and security: data is protected according to industry PCI DSS guidelines, and Flint has developed patent pending methods to protect consumer privacy.

“Flint will be a game changer in the world of mobile payments for small businesses," said Alex Mendez, Founding Managing Director of Storm Ventures. “They have created a simple approach that couples payments and social marketing to provide a huge leap forward for the mobile small businesses that form the backbone of our economy. The Flint team consists of seasoned executives who have created market-leading products, and we’re very excited to be teaming up with them."

Small business owners and merchants interested in more information or in requesting an invitation to the Beta program should sign up at Flint Registration. Flint also will be offering an integration program for a select set of distribution partners. Follow Flint on Twitter at www.twitter.com/flintmo and like Flint on Facebook at www.facebook.com/flintmo.