Q&A with IPN’s Katie Schmalzried

Q: How long have you been working on the Intuit PaymentNetwork (IPN) team (and at Intuit)?
I’m a newcomer to the team— this is my third month working with Intuit PaymentNetwork. I love how dynamic and energetic the group is, I feel lucky to have joined such a fun bunch!

Q: What is a typical day like in your role on the Intuit PaymentNetwork team?
One thing I love about my job is the variety—there is no typical day! Some days I spend brainstorming new product ideas with a designer on my team; other times I’ll work with an engineer to discuss a particular implementation of our solution; and sometimes, I’ll test out a competitor’s product to make sure Intuit PaymentNetwork is building the best product on the market. But my favorite part of the job is talking with customers. At Intuit, we really pride ourselves on getting customer feedback so that we make delightful products that really serve our customers’ needs. Nothing is more inspiring than hearing how small business owners use IPN to help run their business, get paid faster, and make their lives easier. It’s what motivates me to come to work every day!

Q: We hear that you are the mobile guru on the Intuit PaymentNetwork team, so we have a few mobile related questions for you.

• As mobile adoption continues to grow, how have you seen it effect small businesses?
  Smart phones have radically changed the way small business owners conduct business. With essentially mini-computers in their pockets, it’s now possible for a small business to be entirely mobile. I recently spoke with owner of a food truck who literally runs her business from the front seat of her truck: she communicates with her employees exclusively through text messages, manages her schedule with her mobile calendar, broadcasts her truck’s location via Twitter and Facebook, and accepts payment on-the-go with GoPayment. She could even pay her employees with her phone if she used SnapPayroll. Mobile adoption has allowed small businesses the ability to conduct business seamlessly…where-ever, whenever.

• Do you think it’s important for small businesses to use mobile devices to collect payments?
  Extremely! One of a small business owner’s greatest dilemmas is getting paid on time. Relying on snail-mail to send an invoice, mail a check and then to deposit the check in the bank is a time-consuming and painful process. Why not remove all those barriers by requesting payment and getting paid through your phone?
  

• What is your favorite mobile device, and what apps do you like to use?
  My favorite mobile device is my iPhone. As for apps, I enjoy Uber for finding a cab, Mint for tracking my spending, Spotify for listening to music, and Instragram for photo sharing.

Q: What do you like to do in your free time outside of working with the IPN team?
In my free time, I enjoy jogging outside, practicing yoga and sharing meals out with friends.

Ditch the Clutter with Intuit’s New App: PaperTrail

Keeping your business organized can be a stressful task as you are managing everything from accounting to payroll to marketing. PaperTrail, a new iOS app from Intuit, helps you ditch the messy pile of papers, and stay organized for tax time. With the FREE app, you can take pictures of business receipts and track miles traveled with all records in one (paperless) place. Using an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch, with just a few taps, you can have the following assets at your fingertips:

Receipt Capture
•Capture and store paper receipts by taking a picture from your phone
•Add notes to receipts to remember important transactions

Mileage Tracking
•Track miles driven for business purposes
•Easily calculate your tax deductions
•Save starting and ending odometer readings for tax purposes

Other
•Come tax time, you can email tracked business receipts & miles to your accountant to maximize deductions
•Store everything on iCloud for safe keeping

Want to see more? Here’s a quick demo of the app in action.

Download the free app at: http://bit.ly/YnRATP

Money See, MoneyDue – Introducing New iOS App!

MoneyDue is the new free app that can help you turn your business appointments into payments! The new Intuit PaymentNetwork app uses the calendar feature on your iPhone or iPod Touch to convert calendar appointments into payment reminders. You can also keep track of the payments you are owed and the payments you’ve received through individual calendar appointments.

Here’s a quick demo of how easy the app is to use. Download the app for free on iTunes today!

New! Mobile Payments + Custom Branding

Your customers can now pay from their smart phones

You can now create your own QR payment code. Your customers can then use this code to pay you from their mobile phones. ITS THAT EASY!

Steps for small businesses:

1) Log in to IPN and click on ‘Enable Mobile Payments’ on the left

2) A QR code will be generated that you can use by:

a) Printing on ‘Event Fliers’, ‘Marketing Banners’ or a fliers that you can paste at your retail store

b) Copying and pasting it on your printed invoices, emails, etc

Steps for your customer:

1) Download a QR Code reader on their Android or iPhone (if they do not have one already)

2) Scan your image to pay you

Extending branding capabilities to ‘eCommerce’ and ‘Payment Request’ flows + More Colors

You can now apply ‘Your’ small business brand across pay link, eCommerce and ‘Payment Request’ flows. Just click on the ‘Branding Customization’ button on the left to use this feature.

Also, you now have more colors to choose from to match your website or business style. Here is an example of what your customers will see after you customize it:

Enjoy and please provide feedback. These requirements were built on feedback we received from you.

- Your IPN team

QuickBooks Online users can now accept credit card payments

This holiday season, while elves are busy making toys … we’re working hard on adding functionality to make Intuit PaymentNetwork even better. This week, we launched a handful of new features and here are just a few highlights:

1. QuickBooks Online users can accept credit card payments.

Turning on this feature gives your customers the ability to use a credit card to pay their invoice. As a QuickBooks Online user, you can manage (turn on/off) this optional feature at any time by signing into Intuit PaymentNetwork and clicking on ‘Profile’ in the left navigation bar. Navigate to ‘Receiving Preferences’ and click the ‘Turn On’ button. That’s it – easy! All invoices you create and send after turning this option ON can be paid by either credit card or bank account. You can turn this option OFF at any time.

2. IPN pay links go mobile!

It’s now even easier for your payors to pay you quickly – wherever they are! We’ve introduced a mobile friendly experience for custom pay links, which allow your customers to easily pay you when visiting your website/Facebook page etc. And now, if customers tap on your pay link through a mobile device* they will see a mobile friendly site (see below).

* Devices supported: iPhone, iPod touch and Android devices. Other devices will display the desktop friendly IPN website.

 3. Scheduling credit card payments

Customers who receive invoices through Intuit PaymentNetwork and QuickBooks can now schedule a credit card payment, once signed in. Please note that merchants must accept credit card payments to activate this feature.

4. Adding other forms of payment

While sending a payment, in addition to selecting previously entered payment accounts, payers can now add a new bank account or credit card without exiting the payment process.

A big thanks to our Intuit PaymentNetwork customers for the feedback, which helps us build great products for you. Keep the comments coming!

Mobile payments – Yay or Nay???

• Jan 25, 2011 – Apple aims to take NFC Mainstream; perhaps the greatest trick they’ve ever pulled? (TechCrunch article)
• May 11, 2011 – Visa unveils new “digital wallet” for electronic commerce (http://www.visa.com/betterway/)
• May 26, 2011  – Google introduces a new mobile wallet application for its Android phone (http://www.google.com/wallet/)
• June 29, 2011 – Square Snags Big Value: $1 Billion (Wall Street Journal article)

Of late there has been a lot of Buzz on mobile payments, especially in the point of sale retail (grocery stores, retail stores, etc) and field services (plumbers, gardeners, on-the-go small businesses, etc) segments. Is this just a trend that will wane over time? Or is it the beginning of a revolutionary way that redefines how we make and receive payments? Time will tell. However here are some factors that are worth considering in mobile payments:

 

WHAT’S IN IT FOR THE SMALL BUSINESS/MERCHANT???

Unless there is sustainable value for the small business, they will not be inclined to adopt mobile payments. Sustainable value can come in many forms some of which are:

1. Cost parity or additional savings

Mobile payments have to be billed as card present transactions with the same rates as plastic cards in a retail store.

2. Loss reduction

Accepting mobile payments drastically reduces merchant losses.

3. Barriers to entry

The cost of implementation should be $0 or very minimal.

4. Competitive edge/increased sales

Accepting mobile payments increases sales per merchant or puts the merchant at a competitive edge over others. In the case of Square and Intuit’s GoPayment, this is the area where significant merchant value is delivered.

5. Associated revenue streams

Accepting mobile payments renders additional revenue streams such as location based coupons, deals, analytics, etc

 

WHAT’S IN IT FOR THE CONSUMER???

1. Convenience

Does a mobile wallet replace everything in my physical wallet or does it only replace my payment cards? Typically a consumer has 1) Payment instruments (Credit card, debit card, cash, etc), 2) Loyalty cards (Grocery card, library card, etc), 3) Identity cards(Insurance, drivers license, etc) and 4) Other (coupons, business cards, post its, etc) in their physical wallet. By replacing only payment cards, is there a real benefit to the consumer?

2. Added security

Are mobile payments more secure than using a credit or debit card at the point of sale?

3. Cool factor

Using my mobile phone to performs tasks is way cooler than logging in or using my wallet. This factor could be related to certain demographics and generations.

In conclusion, companies should start investing in the mobile wallet space even though future US growth factors are uncertain at best. Investments should be in the form of pilot projects with limited capital expenditure and focused on in-market learning. That way, if a few years from now there is mass mobile payment adoption, the firms that have invested in this space are not left out.

Thoughts and comments from our users are welcome. Please post comments.

- Chetan Sukthanker

Related articles

• TechCrunch: Apple aims to take NFC Mainstream; perhaps the greatest trick they’ve ever pulled?
• Visa unveils new “digital wallet” for electronic commerce
• Google introduces a new mobile wallet application for its Android phone
• Square Snags Big Value: $1 Billion
• PayPal: We’ll actually process $3 billion in mobile payments this year (intomobile.com)
• Eric Schmidt: Mobile payments at retail to explode (news.cnet.com)
• ISIS Mobile Payments To Start In Austin (slashgear.com)