Ingenico SA has introduced a suite of mobile-commerce applications designed to work with most mobile devices merchants already own, thereby simplifying the sales process for independent sales organizations hoping to convince more merchants to accept payment cards, contends the France-based point-of-sale terminal maker.
Mobile merchants, such as delivery drivers and home-based product sellers, likely will not pay for a mobile-payment terminal, notes Christopher Justice, Ingenico president of North America. They also typically will not spend additional funds to accommodate downloadable mobile-commerce applications that are not compatible with their existing handsets and carriers, he says.
ISOs more easily can convince a merchant to add mobile-transaction services if the merchant does not have to “spend money on a new phone and switching mobile carriers,” which may include paying contract-cancellation fees, says Justice.
Ingenico’s mobile applications include RoamPay, which enables merchants to collect card payments, and RoamBuy, which enables them to create a storefront application consumers can download to their mobile devices. The applications are compatible with “hundreds” of mobile devices “regardless of carrier,” according to Ingenico.
A cell phone’s Web browser sometimes is “slow and inconvenient,” which makes it ill suited for card acceptance, says Justice. “The future points us toward applications residing on the phone that are” intended specifically to conduct transactions, he says.
The terminal maker is working with Roam Data Inc., a Boston-based mobile-application service provider, to provide the applications.
Ingenico announced in November it invested $6.5 million in the company (see story).
