There are many considerations for choosing which payment methods to offer your clients. Overall, you want convenient payment options to improve the customer journey. As a bonus, it also encourages customers to pay on time.
Google Pay is one example of a highly convenient option, especially if you let clients use it over text. Sending a Google Pay request via text works exceptionally well for situations where your clients are not physically present when they pay, but you can even use it in your store. And with more than 120 million Android users in the US alone, you’re making sure you address the needs of a large segment of consumers.
Now that you know that you can accept Google Pay via text, there are a few other crucial things to know before you start doing so.
What is Google Pay?
Google Pay is a mobile wallet that you can download to your Android or iOS device. It can be used to send money between friends or pay for items at stores or businesses. As such, your company can choose to accept the Google Pay app in your store or via text.
When someone first downloads and sets up their account, they will upload their cards into the wallet. From there, they can easily choose which one they want to use to pay for each transaction. In addition to debit and credit cards, you can also store transit passes, loyalty cards, and more in your new Google Pay app.
The Google Pay app also offers additional features so users can track their accounts and finances. They can even see insights about their spending patterns and get help saving. Some major retailers also have cashback offers if customers pay with Google Pay.
Google Pay for local businesses
Local businesses can accept Google Pay just as easily as any larger business would. You can get paid faster by accepting it, as the transactions are quick and convenient.
There are two main ways to accept Google Pay. You can opt for an NFC-enabled terminal inside your store. The Google Pay app relies on this NFC (near field connection) technology to connect with your customers’ smartphones.
You can also accept Google Pay when clients are not physically present. You can integrate it as an option on your e-commerce platform, or you can offer Google Pay SMS payment.
Once you set up text-to-pay with Google Pay, you may want to expand your offerings for this payment method. Google Pay offers an API for Passes that lets your users store gift cards, offers, and loyalty programs in the application. You can even set up support for tickets if your business has ticketed events.
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How to send a Google Pay request by text step-by-step
The team at Google specifically designed Google Pay to be simple to set up. With some tech skills, you can easily integrate it into your website.
An even easier option that is more convenient for customers is to offer Google Pay via text messages. With this method, you text customers a payment link. They open it on their smartphone and see the option to pay with Google Pay.
You will be able to send a request in just a few steps. Keep in mind that this process is different than when you request money in the new Google Pay app. The app’s feature where you send and receive money is designed more for peer-to-peer transfers than business ones.
Step 1: Create a Google Pay account
The first thing you will need to do is set up your Google Pay account. This is straightforward to do, especially if your company already has a Google service account.
As you create your account, expect to input some basic business information. You will also need to verify the business bank account you want your funds to go to.
Step 2: Text-enable your phone number
Before you can use text-to-pay, you will need to be able to send and receive texts from your business phone number. If you haven’t already text-enabled your business number, go ahead and do so.
You will need to choose a platform to access your text messages as part of the process. Podium is a good option, and as a bonus, you can also use Podium for text-to-pay. That brings us to the next step.
Step 3: Choose a text-to-pay provider
You will need to choose what software or provider to use for your text-to-pay. This is the time to confirm that they support Google Pay and any other payment method you want to offer, such as ACH payment.
It tends to be easiest if you choose a text-to-pay platform that you can also use for SMS marketing and other business-related texts. This reduces the learning curve and should cut costs. It also saves you the hassle of importing and exporting information to multiple platforms.
Step 4: Set up your account with the SMS payment provider
Once you choose which provider to use for your SMS payments, follow their instructions to set up your account. At the very least, expect to import customers’ cellphone numbers as part of the process.
Fortunately, you don’t have to set up everything piecemeal. Most providers that are set up to offer Google Pay will also automatically set up Apple Pay and even Samsung Pay all at once. This is usually done when you set up your merchant processing to charge credit cards.
Step 5: Send the request
The exact process of sending a payment request for Google Pay via text will depend on the platform you are using. However, you will typically open it up and either select the payment method to request (Google Pay) or the client’s name. From there, you will choose the other element and the payment amount. The best systems will only require a few clicks to send the request.
Step 6: Send a reminder, if necessary
At this point, you can just wait to receive the payment. If the customer takes too long, consider sending text payment reminders via the platform. When you use them properly, these can be convenient reminders that encourage customers to pay you without becoming a nuisance.
The impact of Google Pay
If you are thinking about accepting Google Pay but aren’t sure whether you should, keep the following pros and cons in mind.
Pros
- The Google Pay app is highly secure. It has built-in transaction encryption, authentication, and fraud protection.
- Customers can download the Google Pay app for free. It is in the Play Store or the Apple App Store.
- Google Pay is compatible with both Androids and iPhones, so most of your customers can download and use it.
- It has highly rated support.
- Paying with this method is very fast.
- Customers can pay even if they forget their wallet, as long as they have their phone.
Cons
- It is an additional payment method to set up.
- An NFC-enabled reader is helpful for accepting Google Pay in your store. (But you can get around this by texting customers a payment link.)
- Customers need to have a smartphone to use the app. (But you can also offer other payment methods, and most people have smartphones.)
Conclusion
One of the many ways your business can attract and retain customers is by offering the payment options they want. Most customers prefer highly convenient methods, such as Google Pay over text. With the right platform, such as Podium, it is straightforward to set up text-to-pay and start accepting it. With some creativity, you can also use text-to-pay for this payment method for purchases in your store. As a bonus, the Google Pay mobile wallet is free to download and compatible with both Android and iOS, so many of your customers likely already have it.
