Updated 3/13/2019: Powa Technologies filed for bankruptcy in February 2016. mPowa has been resurrected as a consumer loan service and has no relation to payment processing at this time. We therefore will no longer update this review.
mPowa (mPowa.com) is a mobile payment app developed by a London, England-based company known as “Powa.” Powa originally specialized in internet/e-commerce business management products and services but recently entered the mobile payments arena. The service is similar to GoPayment and Square and allows just about anyone with most brands of smartphone to accept credit/debit card payments. mPowa was founded in 2011 and is headquartered at The Met Building, 9th Floor, 22 Percy Street. London, W1T 2BU, GBR with a U.S. office located at 46 Laverne Avenue, Mill Valley, California 94941.
mPowa Overview
- Pascal Nicolas
Customer Reviews & Sentiment
mPowa’s online customer support is strikingly similar to Square’s and also does not appear to include a support phone number. Although the lack of phone support has been a significant area of merchant frustration with Square, we did not locate any complaints describing mPowa as a ripoff at the time of this review. A possible reason for this may be the short time the company has been operating and that it has not signed enough accounts to expose problem areas. Additionally, mPowa’s integration with existing merchant accounts may result in mPowa complaints being redirected to the actual payment processors.
Client Satisfaction Ratings
Powa is based in the UK and does not currently have a Better Business Bureau profile. Therefore, we will not factor this category into the company’s overall rating.
Card Processing Rates & Fees
mPowa’s business model is similar to Square in the sense that it includes a free card reader, no setup fees, no monthly fees, no time commitment, no cancellation fee and a simple transaction fee. Additionally, the marketing and overall presentation of the service is nearly identical to its U.S.-based competitors. mPowa does, however, have a few standout features that set it apart.
The mPowa app is available to most merchants worldwide who already have a merchant account through another provider and want to enable mobile processing. In these cases, mPowa integrates with the merchant’s current processor and only acts as point-of-sale system. The cost for this service is a markup of 0.25% per transaction or $0.40 (or £0.25 or €0.30, depending on your country) per transaction, whichever is greater. Merchants who do not have a current merchant account, or wish to set up a new account with mPowa, will pay a flat processing fee of 2.95% per transaction, which is available to merchants in the U.S., U.K., Australia, and mainland Europe.
Bottom Line
Although mPowa is a defunct product, some of the company’s business was acquired by a UK-based group called Greenlight Digital. It is therefore possible that Powa’s technology may resurface in the future under different branding. For now, merchants should assume that the company and its products are completely out of business.
mPowa Rating
