Mobile merchants in nations where chip-and-PIN cards using the EMV standard are used will have an opportunity to use VeriFone Systems Inc.'s PayWare Mobile service for the iPhone later this year, VeriFone says.
The U.S. version of PayWare Mobile that operates on Apple Inc.'s iPhone launched in February (
The point-of-sale terminal maker discussed the service during a conference call earlier this week to discuss second-quarter results (
The smart card version of the PayWare Mobile card reader and software will be available in the company’s fiscal fourth quarter, which begins August 1. VeriFone CEO Douglas G. Bergeron did not say which EMV nations would be first. VeriFone also is working on versions of the service for other types of smartphones.
The San Jose, Calif.-based company did not provide details of the number of devices sold so far, nor would it say how many transactions have been conducted. Earlier this year, VeriFone said transactions averaged between $100 and $200, with no more than 20 transactions a month.
Bergeron contends the iPad’s recent launch overshadowed other Apple products, but VeriFone is now seeing PayWare Mobile sales "picking up nicely over the last few weeks and nearly doubling every week."
Earlier in the year, VeriFone said it expected to ship "tens of thousands" of iPhone PayWare Mobile readers, a target that Bergeron said is still achievable.
"Part of it will come from our international piece that’s going to begin in Q4," he says. "If you look at the current growth, which is somewhat geometric in nature, you get there. But who knows if that continues. We are hopeful."
VeriFone is selling PayWare Mobile through independent sales organizations and Apple’s stores.
VeriFone recently launched a campaign to entice ISO that promises $100 for every three merchants who activate a PayWare mobile account through June 30.
