Hypercom Plans Card-Processing Internet Product

To move further into the Internet payment processing arena, Hypercom Corp. plans to introduce software that would let banks and merchants process credit card payments over the Internet.

The point of sale terminal provider said it expects to unveil Ascendent Realpay in the fourth quarter.

Heather Bellini, an analyst at Lehman Brothers, said Hypercom believes there could be a market for processing such payments, though it is unsure how significant the business will become.

She said the software introduction is more likely to be an attempt to "raise the company's visibility" among merchants who might be potential buyers of its point of sale terminals.

"I'm not sure what it will do for their revenue line," she said.

Shares of Hypercom's stock have been languishing since it announced problems in its Asian markets this year.

Its stock is down 62% from its March 11 high of $18.9375. Last week it closed at $7.125, down 75 cents.

"They have great products, but Asia has been a problem," Ms. Bellini said.

Phoenix-based Hypercom is positioning the software as bank-friendly. It would let card information be stored on bank-run data bases rather than on merchants'.

Banks are worried that "they'll wake up six months from now and be out of the game," said Sean Kiewiet, product director of electronic commerce for Hypercom.