Mobile payments on the agenda for Xero with SME invoice update

Mobile payments on the agenda for Xero with SME invoice update

Cloud-based accounting software business Xero has launched an update for its online invoice feature

FASTER invoice payments and operating via a secure network are two key components of Xero’s update to its online invoicing feature, as the accounting software player looks to hone in on the small business mobile payment market.

The update to Xero’s online invoicing feature includes a revamped design to its dashboard, a move that Xero claims will ensure “that recipients of those invoices can pay small businesses more quickly, across any device and with enhanced security”.

Two Step Authentication

Small business owners will also be able send and receive secure payments to and from suppliers with Xero’s Two Step Authentication (2SA). Xero claims its online invoice service is “an inherently more secure method” than sending an invoice by email because payment terms cannot be changed without logging into Xero.

The update is focused towards mobile users, with the Adyen Mobile Payments Index claiming that more than a third of global online payments are now completed via mobile, while Xero claims that its mobile users have recently surpassed more than 100,000 users.

The announcement comes just hours after Deloitte threw its hat into the small business software ring, unveiling its £2.5m investment Propel, a cloud-based accounting and analytics service, to the market. The two will be competing in a market against two other Big Four firms, as KPMGPwC and Sage have already made progress in their quest to capture the lucrative small business market.

“Vital to the small business economy”

Craig Walker, chief technology officer at Xero, said that its latest offering was a reiteration of Xero’s desire to ensure that customers are paid as quickly as possible, something which is “vital to the small business economy.”

“We’ve embraced responsive web design to ensure that our customers can not only send their customers online invoices, but that those invoices are displayed beautifully, regardless of the device their customers are using.

“As we see an increase in penetration of mobile so to do we see an increase in phishing attacks on small businesses. Xero encourages customers to use two-step authentication (2SA) and to send an online invoice from Xero as a more secure method than sending an invoice by email because payment terms cannot be changed without logging into Xero,” continued Walker.

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