Hypercom Corp. is aiming its new mobile phone card reader at both on-the-go merchants and retailers that want to expedite purchases and cut down on the wait time at the register.
The "sole proprietor business" that traditionally found accepting payment cards cost prohibitive can benefit from lower-cost, smart phone-enabled payment devices, and there are also "line busting" opportunities at "higher-end retail," Stuart Taylor, Hypercom's vice president of global solutions and marketing, said in an interview Wednesday at the Electronic Transactions Association Annual Meeting and Expo in Las Vegas.
The Scottsdale, Ariz., terminal maker's SmartPayments Mobile device, announced Monday, connects to Apple Inc.'s iPhone.
Line busting typically involves retail employees using handheld wireless devices to scan customers' merchandise and accept card payments. With line busting, customers can avoid waiting in line to pay for their purchases.
Hypercom said it will begin shipping in June two SmartPayments Mobile products.
Both SmartPayments Mobile products include a Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard-certified card reader. One device, SmartPayments MobilePlus, also includes a bar-code reader that merchants can use to scan merchandise and ring up sales.
"The bar-code scanner is a big advantage" for merchants, Taylor said.
