Mobile-payments company Apriva announced today the launch of the AprivaPay and AprivaPay Professional mobile-payment services. Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Apriva operates its own network that connects mobile-payment terminals to processors.
Both new services enable mobile merchants—those without a permanent stores, such as vendors at fairs—to accept payment cards, but each has different costs and features.
AprivaPay Professional uses software the company developed that runs on mobile phones. Merchants key transaction data into the device using the software for processing, but they can use an optional magnetic stripe reader with built-in printer to accept card-present transactions, which generally cost merchants less to accept than keyed-in transactions.
AprivaPay Professional initially works only with Windows Mobile phones, but the company expects software for Apple Inc.’s iPhone, Google Inc.’s Android operating system and Research in Motion Ltd.’s BlackBerry devices to be available in the coming weeks.
“We specialize in mobile-transaction processing,” Bill Clark, Apriva executive vice president of Apriva’s point-of-sale division, tells PaymentsSource. “Now we’re moving into additional mobile platforms.”
The service will work even when merchants do not have a cellular connection by storing the encrypted transaction data until a network connection resumes, says Clark, who would not reveal the monthly fee for this service. The AprivaPay service, at less than $10 month, costs less than the professional version, Clark says.
Merchants access AprivaPay through an Internet browser to enter their payment card transactions. Merchants can operate AprivaPay on a Web-enable mobile phone or by using a laptop computer. The wholesale price for the service is less than $10 per month, says Clark, noting merchants do not need to buy hardware or software to use AprivaPay.
