Sionic Mobile today announced its highly anticipated ION Loyalty Small Business Center is now live, providing small business owners and local merchants an affordable, easy-to-use mobile loyalty, payments and marketing platform. ION Loyalty helps increase traffic and sales through unlimited advertisements in the ION mobile marketplace and with merchant-branded eGift Cards. The service also cuts costs by providing an industry-low, 1% credit card processing rate and keeps good customers returning more often through automated rewards at every checkout.

With more than half of consumers in North America expressing interest in making payments with their phones, research indicates that mobile payment transactions could reach as high as $5.4 billion by 2018. Despite the continued surge in mobile, the majority of small businesses (which currently make up more than 90 percent of the businesses in the U.S.) lack a sustainable mobile strategy citing the growing costs associated with upgrading POS terminals, lack of resources and increased fees as the primary challenges.

“Small business owners recognize the significance of mobile, and it’s not a question of if they will integrate mobile commerce, but rather when and how,” said Ronald Herman, CEO and founder of Sionic Mobile. “The biggest obstacles preventing these merchants from entering the mobile marketplace is the time and cost associated with replacing existing technology, and the increasing fees associated with these types of transactions. ION Loyalty, however, gives business owners a robust mobile payments, loyalty and marketing platform at an equal or lower rate than what they are paying for credit card processing alone and they use their existing, familiar equipment.”

There are no upfront costs, monthly fees or equipment requirements for merchants to use ION Loyalty. Business owners simply download the free ION Loyalty app to their smartphones or tablets and add an ‘ION’ tender key on their existing POS systems. Merchant settlements on all ION activity occurs nightly and payments are processed exclusively and securely through J.P. Morgan Chase.

“Small businesses need to invest in mobile strategies that go beyond simply accepting payments if they want to see a real return and long-term benefits,” continued Herman. “ION Loyalty adds the convenience of mobile payments at a very affordable rate, but also gives the small business owner tools needed to connect with its customers, attract new ones, and re-invest in loyalty.”

Small business owners may log in to the ION Loyalty Small Business Center to manage their accounts, create compelling mobile ads and view real-time payment activity and history.

To learn more, please visit www.IONLoyalty.com.

About Sionic Mobile

Midtown Atlanta-based Sionic Mobile provides low-cost payments bundled with mobile marketing and customer loyalty to businesses and instant rewards to consumers at checkout. The Company’s universal rewards, called IONs, help merchants keep good customers coming back more often and are awarded in addition to customers’ credit card points. Consumers may spend IONs (1,000 IONs = $1.00) at any merchant in the ION Marketplace on anything at any time or they may donate their IONs to a local charity or cause. Businesses use ION LoyaltyⓇ securely online, on mobile devices or through their POS system, eliminating the need for new equipment. Consumers use the free ION RewardsⓇ app for iOS and Android for in-store checkouts or the ION Rewards Member Center to earn IONs when shopping online.