Mobile Payment Solutions: 10 Best Payment Systems

We are faced with payments via a mobile phone, computer, laptop, or tablet every day - food delivery, payment for goods using Apple Pay, buying any item on the Internet, and so on. This means that consumers are faced with mobile payment systems very often, which obliges companies to take these decisions seriously so that the payment is successful, the card data does not get anywhere, and the money does not go away. Today, we'll take a look at the types of payment apps for small businesses, as well as examples of secure and proven apps.

Most of the mobile payment solutions on this list are still live in Nov 2026: Stripe, Square, PayPal, Google Pay, Apple Pay and Payanywhere are all still trading, Amazon Payments is now Amazon Pay and Braintree is now PayPal Enterprise Payments. If you're a small business taking payments in person, Square and Payanywhere both sell card readers alongside their payment tools. LevelUp's site is no longer online, and I've added four more services worth a look below.

What's changed since this list was written (checked Nov 2026)

Tool	Status	What to know
Stripe	Live	A financial services platform that helps businesses accept payments, build billing models and manage money movement. As of Nov 2026, 2.9% + 30c per successful domestic card transaction.
Square	Live	Sells point of sale software, card readers and payment tools for businesses of all types. As of Nov 2026, plans start at $0.
PayPal	Live	Lets you pay, send and request money and manage payments in one app.
Google Pay	Live	A way to pay online, in stores or send money to friends and family.
Amazon Payments	Live, renamed to Amazon Pay	Lets businesses offer Amazon checkout, and Express Payout pays merchants within a day, including weekends.
LevelUp	Discontinued	Site no longer online.
Apple Pay	Live	Lets you pay in stores, online and in apps using the privacy and security built into your Apple device.
PayAnywhere	Live	An all-in-one payments platform with a mobile payment app and a handheld Bluetooth card reader. As of Nov 2026, 2.69% for swipe, dip or tap and 3.49% + $0.19 keyed.
Braintree	Live, renamed to PayPal Enterprise Payments	Braintree's own page says it's now PayPal Enterprise Payments, an end-to-end payments platform from PayPal.

 Mobile Payment Solutions: Essentials

There are several types of business payment solutions that companies can use to receive payment for goods. All of them, in one way or another, require card or bank account information for payment.  Let's take a closer look at each of the types.

 Mobile Wallet

You are definitely familiar with such payment apps for small businesses, even if you have never made purchases on the Internet - these are mobile payment solutions such as Apple Pay and Google Pay that save information about your cards, which is necessary for payment in stores. With the help of such mobile payment methods, you can leave cards and cash at home and just pay by phone. In addition, such services are divided into two more types:

• Make In-Store Payments- when you use your mobile phone to pay for good and services in stores
• Make eCommerce Payments- when you choose the appropriate option to pay for the online goods

Mobile eCommerce

Very often, customers can simply enter their credit or debit card details on the site and make a purchase, and it is not important to use the mobile wallet to do it.

Mobile Peer-to-Peer (P2P)

These payment apps for small businesses are designed to send money to a specific person - your friend, colleague, etc., or to a company ID. Examples of such payment systems are PayPal, Zelle, or Venmo.

SMS Payments

Some services can be paid for by simply sending SMS, for example, top-up your mobile phone account or send money to a friend’s number. The system will read the code, process the transaction, and credit the money to the selected phone number.

 Crypto Payments - New Alternative In 2021

Some payments can be made through cryptocurrency wallets - you can insert the wallet address of the person you want to send money, enter the amount of money to be sent, and the person will receive it as soon as possible. Usually, people use wallets like Coinbase Wallet, Trezor, Guarda, etc. You can find out more crypto wallets here. 

10+ Mobile Payment Solutions

As technology advances, and people buy more and more online or pay with their mobile phones, the popularity of the systems that can be used to do this is growing. For example, as a software development company, MLSDev helps to build mobile payment apps and can allocate a dedicated development team for creating complex digital solutions. Let’s check the most popular solutions for mobile payments.  In this post, we have only discussed low-risk payment gateways. We haven't included medium and high-risk payment gateways like PaymentCloud.

 1. Stripe

Stripe is an international system for secure online payments using credit and debit cards - VISA and Mastercard. To put it simply, Stripe acts as an intermediary between the buyer and the seller, which makes a secure payment from the point of view of information protection. Stripe solves all card payment problems, including card storage, recurring payments, and bank withdrawals. Price: 1.4% + 0.25 EUR for European cards, and 2.9% + 0.25 EUR for non-European cards. 

 2. Square

Square Cash App is a mobile payment application developed by Square Inc. It helps people quickly accept payments and manage money. It is also one of the easiest ways for merchants today to accept payments via mobile phones. Like most of the products in Square's portfolio, the Cash app is a simple, technology-driven platform designed to make life easier. Price: 2.75% per transaction (for companies only).

3. PayPal

PayPal is a financial service provider that makes free money transfers and payments for online purchases possible. PayPal transfers are well established in the online payment environment and are, therefore, very often accepted as a form of payment. Transactions that are made through PayPal are entirely done through internal PayPal accounts. This has the advantage of completely hiding your bank account or credit card information from the recipient of the funds. Price: Free.

 4. Google Pay

Today the new wallet from Google is a merger of two different products. The Android Pay app was merged with the Google Wallet to become Google Pay. Google Pay offers the following features to its users:

• payment for purchases via NFC-module
• online shopping
• buying apps on your phone

Price: Free.

5. Amazon Payments

With the help of this mobile payment service, all buyers on Amazon (and by the way, there are a considerable number of them: 250 million people and these are only active buyers) can use bank card data stored on amazon.com for payments. And with this mobile payment technology, you can pay not only for goods but also for the services of third-party suppliers. Price: 2.9% + $0.30 from domestic transactions, 3.9% + $0.30 from cross-border transactions.

 6. LevelUp

LevelUp - a payment system for small businesses of the Boston company SCVNGR - offers the following payment method: the buyer downloads a special application to his iPhone or Android smartphone and adds his bank card to it. The program generates a QR code that is presented when paying in a cafe, restaurant, or other outlet cooperating with LevelUp. Price: Free.

7. Apple Pay

Apple Pay is an easy, secure, and private way to pay on the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac without a physical card or cash. The system works over the NFC protocol and only on terminals that accept contactless payments (they must have a PayPass or PayWave tag). To pay, you need to bring the gadget to the terminal, select the card in the application, and put your finger on the Touch ID sensor. On Apple Watch, a double tap on the power button initiates the payment and does not require special authorization. Neither Apple Pay nor any other payment provider charges any fees. Price: Free.

 8. PayAnywhere

A mobile processing startup with no mandatory monthly fees, an app, and a card reader included. By analogy with Square, the company offers a simple tariff plan for servicing customer cards in stores and retail chains - 2.69% per card transaction. Both the app and the client card reader are free. Price: 2.69% per transaction.

9. Braintree

Braintree currently offers merchants two ways to use their services. The main and most affordable option is to use a Braintree merchant account, which includes access to a payment gateway. You get a complete merchant account that's professionally rewritten and extremely stable. Price: 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction.

10. WePay 

WePay is one of the most prominent options on the market today. Launched as an alternative to options like Stripe and PayPal in 2008, WePay was designed to give merchants something different. This business payments app supports almost any website by providing a way to integrate accounts to collect payments from participating users via ACH transfers (bank transfers) and credit card payments. Price: 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction.

Getting paid is one half of the picture and paying your team is the other, so see my guide to payroll software for small business and the e-signature software that lets you sign agreements remotely.

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New mobile payment solutions worth a look in 2026

If you're comparing ways to take payments on the go, these services are worth a look too.

SumUp

Card readers, POS systems and tools for taking payments, with no contracts. As of Nov 2026, the UK pay-as-you-go option is a 1.69% transaction fee and £0 a month.

Zettle

Lets business owners accept card, contactless and mobile payments, organise inventory and analyse sales.

Clover

A POS system and credit card readers for businesses.

Cash App

An app to send and receive money instantly, with a Cash App Card and tools to manage your money.

Frequently asked questions

Which mobile payment solutions suit a small business?

If you take payments face to face, Square, Payanywhere, SumUp and Clover all offer card readers, and Zettle accepts card, contactless and mobile payments while helping you organise inventory. Stripe helps businesses accept payments and build billing models. Customers can also pay you with Apple Pay or Google Pay, which work in stores, online and in apps.

What do mobile payment services cost?

As of Nov 2026, Stripe charges 2.9% + 30c per successful domestic card transaction, Payanywhere charges 2.69% for swipe, dip or tap and 3.49% + $0.19 keyed, and Square's plans start at $0. In the UK, SumUp's pay-as-you-go option is a 1.69% transaction fee and £0 a month. Check each provider's own pricing page before you sign up.

Which mobile payment companies have changed their names?

Two of the mobile payment companies on this list have new names. Amazon Payments is now Amazon Pay, which lets businesses offer Amazon checkout and pays merchants within a day through Express Payout. Braintree's own page says it's now PayPal Enterprise Payments, an end-to-end payments platform from PayPal. LevelUp's site is no longer online.

Can I take payments with my smartphone?

Yes. Payanywhere has a mobile payment app that works with its handheld Bluetooth card reader, and Zettle lets business owners accept card, contactless and mobile payments. On the customer side, Apple Pay and Google Pay let people pay in stores, online and in apps from their phone, and Cash App lets people send and receive money instantly.

 Mobile Payment Solutions in 2021: Bottom Line

The most important thing in the system with which your customers will pay for services is safety and reliability. That is why it is very important to use payment apps for small businesses that have been tested over the years - you can safely choose one of the ten that we told you about above. In addition, you should not forget about favorable terms for the company and not pay too high fees. 

Related: How to Build a One-Person AI Business in 2026

For the wider picture, the AI for small business hub groups all my guides by the job you are trying to automate.