Troops will be able to use the PayAnywhere app and mobile point-of-sale credit card reader to support their efforts to raise funds by selling popcorn. By adding credit card sales, the Boy Scouts hopes to boost sales and capture transactions from customers who might not have cash readily available.

“People prefer to pay with plastic as it is the most widely used form of payment,” said Gene Schenberg, vice president of sales at PayAnywhere. “People tend to spend more money when they can pay with plastic.

“The Boy Scouts can accept payments in the form most customers prefer to pay and collect more money by using PayAnywhere,” he said.

“No bounced checks, better cash flow, and instant receipts emailed to their donors collectively make PayAnywhere the right choice for the Boy Scouts as well as any other fundraising program.”

Mobilizing fundraising
Boy Scouts regularly sell popcorn in front of stores and door-to-door in neighborhoods as a way to raise funds for their various activities.

Once the PayAnywhere app has been downloaded onto a smartphone or tablet and the PayAnywhere card reader attached, Boy Scouts can enter the amount of the charge and swipe the customer’s card to process a payment.

The customer sees the transaction in real time and can get an emailed receipt.

PayAnywhere has teamed up with Ramsey Popcorn, the company behind the Camp Masters Program, on the initiative.

Ramsey Popcorn services more than 40 Boy Scout councils across the country with 70 percent of each sale going directly to support local scouting.

The PayAnywhere mobile credit card reader is a small accessory that plugs into the audio jack of smartphones and tablets, enabling users to swipe credit cards and securely process payments.

 Cashless payments
The Boy Scouts are not alone in embracing mobile for credit card payments.

Last year, 30 Girl Scout councils representing more than 40,000 troops partnered with Sage Mobile Payments on an initiative that lets scouts accept credit or debit card payments via an attachment for mobile devices. The technology helped the troops sell up to four times more cookies (see story).

Many small businesses, community organization and individual sellers have embraced mobile POS as a way to help the drive sales they might have otherwise lost by only accepting cash.

“Anyone who has done any kind of fundraising knows the one line that shuts them down is, ‘Sorry, I don’t have any cash with me,’” Mr. Schenberg said. “With PayAnywhere there no longer is any excuse.

“Everyone carries a credit or debit card today,” he said. “Also, people tend to spend more when they can pay with plastic.

“The Boy Scouts (and Girl Scouts) recognize this and know that it will also help them raise more funds for their programs/needs.”

Final Take
Chantal Tode is associate editor on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York