Small Business News
JPMorgan Chase Introduces New Card Readers for Small Businesses
It seems as though one big bank is looking to appeal to small business owners, introducing a new set of banking and payment solutions. This week, JPMorgan Chase announced the debut of its Business Complete Banking offering, which includes QuickAccept — a new mobile card reader tool that will allow businesses to accept credit cards and contactless payments.
While the account will carry a $15 a month service fee by default, business owners can have this fee waived if they maintain a daily balance of more than $2,000, spend at least $2,000 per month on their Chase Ink Business Card, link a Chase Private Client Checking account, or make more than $2,000 in deposits from QuickAccept per month. In addition to QuickAccept, account holders will also have access to other transfer options, such as wire transfers, Chase QuickDeposit, and Chase Online Bill Pay.
The rollout puts Chase in competition with the FinTech Square, the company that helped make mobile card readers ubiquitous in recent years. In fact, the bank’s payment processing pricing matches Square’s 2.6% + 10¢ fee for card payments that are tapped, dipped (using chip readers), or swiped. Meanwhile, Chase’s 3.5% + 10¢ fee for manually entered credit card payments is slightly less than the 3.5% + 15¢ that Square charges.
However, one key difference is that QuickAccept will include free same-day deposits as opposed to next-day. As JPMorgan’s CEO of merchant services Max Neukirchen told CNBC, “Our competition either doesn’t have same-day funding, or they charge for it. We think it’s a great differentiator for businesses because getting money into their account quickly is so important as they manage their cash flow.”
Further commenting on the new offering, Neukirchen said in a statement, “Especially in the challenging times we’ve seen in 2020, helping small business clients make every sale has been our priority. We applaud small business owners’ creativity and support their ability to generate revenue in person, online and over the phone.” Additionally, speaking to the goal behind Business Complete Banking on the whole, CEO of Chase Business Banking Jen Roberts stated, “Checking accounts are the transaction hub of a business, so we brought the essential elements of paying in and paying out together in one place. Too often, business owners have to cobble together what they need to start and grow, and that’s why we created Chase Business Complete Banking as an integrated system where everything is built in and easily available on demand.”
Judging by the market’s reaction to Chase’s news, the debut of QuickAccept could spell trouble for Square (the FinTech’s stock has fallen nearly 10 points since the announcement). Of course, small business owners will have to decide for themselves which solution makes the most sense. Similarly, Chase’s new tools will need to prove themselves whereas Square does have a head start. Ultimately, this healthy competition could mean more benefits for small businesses — who could really use a win in 2020.
