Small Payments Apps - Your Digital Wallet

The best mobile payment apps allow you to store anything you would put in your wallet, including credit cards, boarding passes and more. You can also make purchases online or in-store with the tap of a button.

Be sure to check out the transaction fees and limits before selecting an app. These can add up quickly.

1. Venmo

Venmo is a mobile app that allows its users to transfer money back and forth between friends. The platform is a great option for splitting dinner bills, paying back a friend for an Uber or splitting the cost of a concert ticket. It's easy and quick to use, making it a popular choice for millennials and younger users.

The app also offers a number of security measures to protect its users, including data encryption, an account PIN and a secure mobile website that is accessible only through the phone's web browser. It also monitors its users' accounts and can help reclaim stolen funds from fraudulent activities.

It's important to remember that any balances in a Venmo account are not FDIC insured. This means that if the company is ever sold or goes out of business, your balance may not be returned to you. As a result, it's always a good idea to transfer any substantial balances out of the app to your bank account.

If you're an entrepreneur, solopreneur or small business owner, Venmo has a special feature that helps you separate your personal and business finances. To use this feature, you'll need to have a personal Venmo account and then create a business profile on the site.

Once you've done this, you can start making payments to and from clients using your business Venmo account. Your business name will appear on each transaction, and you can add a description or memo to each payment. You can even "like" or comment on a payment to show your appreciation.

The app is free to use, but there are some fees associated with transactions made by businesses. Venmo charges sellers a 1.9% fee plus $0.10 per transaction. This is similar to the fee charged by many credit card processors.소액결제 현금화 불법

One of the big benefits of using Venmo for business is that it's easy to transfer money between your personal and business accounts. This is especially helpful for single owners, entrepreneurs and sole proprietors who often struggle to keep track of their personal and business finances.

2. PayPal

For more than two decades, PayPal has been one of the most popular and trusted online payment services in the world. It's often the preferred method for ecommerce businesses and global trade, but it also has a host of other offerings that make it an essential tool for small business owners.

The basic PayPal account is free for users, though some of its services come with fees (such as transactions that involve currency conversion). You can link a bank account to your PayPal wallet, which essentially secures the information from each of the accounts you've linked to it. When you pay with PayPal, your payment details aren't shared between the seller and the buyer, which adds an extra layer of security.

Using PayPal is simple. To send money, just log into your PayPal account and click on the Wallet tab. Enter the email address, mobile number or name of the person you're sending to, as well as the amount of the payment and which account/card you want to use to fund it. Then, select Continue and review the payment details before making your transfer. You can also choose to add a message to your recipient before sending the funds.

If you're using the service to pay a friend or family member, be sure to select "Friends and Family" or use the recipient's QR code for faster payments. Otherwise, you'll incur a transaction fee that the person receiving the money will need to pay when they claim it from their PayPal account.

For those who want to shop at a merchant that accepts PayPal, simply head to their website and click on the PayPal button. This will take you to a secure page where you can enter your PayPal account details and complete the checkout process. Depending on the merchant, you may be asked to verify your identity with a code or other security measure before your purchase is finalized.

For small businesses, integrating the PayPal payment option can help drive more customers to checkout. In fact, a recent study from Ponemon Institute found that more than half of shoppers abandon their cart when their preferred method of payment isn't available. In addition to offering a variety of ways to pay, PayPal can provide businesses with tools such as data encryption, two-factor authentication and email confirmations.

3. Square Cash

Square is best known for its point of sale apps for iOS and Android, but it also has a payments solution designed specifically for small business. Essentially, it allows businesses to request money via their $Cashtag public web page or their phone number, which customers then pay by entering their debit card info. This is a great alternative to the more traditional payment apps out there like Venmo and PayPal, especially for mobile businesses or service-based entrepreneurs like personal trainers, makeup artists, and landscapers.

The app is free for individuals, while the business option comes with a 2.75% fee per transaction. While the fees aren't as low as other services, they're still very competitive, and certainly better than many other options for merchants who need to process payments from consumers. Plus, deposit times are generally within the same window as those offered by other payment solutions for businesses -- next-day for Instant Deposits (which cost 1% normally) and one to three days for regular deposits.

Another big perk to Square Cash is that it lets you choose if you're using the app for personal or business use (though you'll have to log out between payments if you switch). You can also link multiple bank accounts and split transactions into categories of "Friends & Family," "Business," or both, which can be helpful when splitting a bill among a group of people.

If you have a business account with Square, you can also use the app to distribute payroll or spend accrued cash balances on a prepaid MasterCard. This is a pretty unique feature for digital wallets, especially considering you only need to provide a phone number, email address and some basic personal information to get started with the solution.

It's hard to say whether Square Cash is ready to unseat PayPal or Venmo as the top choice for personal and business-related payments, but it definitely is growing in popularity. It's a solid app for anyone who needs an easier way to make payments online, and it's particularly useful for mobile and service-based small businesses and entrepreneurs like personal trainers, landscapers, and hair stylists.

4. Cash App

Cash App, formerly known as Square Cash, is among a host of money transfer apps that offer some unique features. The service, backed by the payment network at Square, allows you to send and receive money instantly from anyone with an account. You can also hold received funds in your account for a certain amount of time, and get a cash card to use in-store or at millions of locations nationwide where Visa is accepted. You can also link your account to a bank to make direct deposits (often arriving up to two days earlier than normal with your bank).

When sending or requesting funds, users are prompted to create a username -- aka, $Cashtag -- which is used to identify them and their transaction history. Alternatively, recipients can be searched by name or email address. Once you find the person you're looking for, simply tap their $Cashtag or their username to select them and send or request funds. You can choose to add a comment, such as a description of the reason for the transaction or a fun emoji, before completing your payment.

In addition to its P2P functionality, the app offers a range of additional services, including investing, discounts and buying Bitcoin. And if you're a small business owner, you can accept payments and automatically deposit them into your bank account using the app for free. The app also charges fees for some services, such as the Cash Card, and you can view those before making a purchase.

It's important to note that Cash App is not a bank, and its banking services are provided by partners like Chase. Its sister service Zelle, which partners directly with many banks and credit unions, offers similar instant banking between people who share the same bank or credit card.

While the convenience of P2P payment apps is undeniable, you should always think twice before you hand over your bank account information to another company. If you're selling something on an online marketplace, for example, scammers can steal your money by claiming that they've already paid you. This is called a "cash flipping" scam.