Ingenico S.A.'s $6.5 million investment in Roam Data Inc., a mobile-payment application company (CardLine, 11/19), is a testament to Ingenico's belief that mobile devices and payments will converge, Christophe Dolique, Ingenico executive vice president of transactions services and global marketing, tells CardLine sister publication ISO&Agent Weekly. Dolique says the Roam Data investment is an opportunity for Ingenico to "address the mobile merchants market with a comprehensive set of security payment" offerings for any mobile device. He estimates there are 100 million mobile merchants globally, ranging from home-based sales, plumbers, direct sellers and small fleet delivery drivers. Roam Data product enables payment and business software to be written for mobile devices without having to write a specific version for each version of a device's operating system, says Will Graylin, CEO of Boston-based Roam Data. Graylin says his product operates on a system independent of a mobile phone's operating system. Current applications made by other companies for Apple Inc.'s iPhone and Research in Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerry devices are problematic because they are made only for those devices, Graylin says. The Roam Data product is software that also can operate on computers and point-of-sale terminals, he says. In addition to payment functions, Roam Data's software also can operate utilities for tracking inventory, order entry or customer management. The business functions operate independently of the payment functions, Graylin says. Roam Data received $8.5 million in this latest funding, Graylin says. That included Ingenico and George Wallner, founder of and former Hypercom Corp. CEO, among other investors. Roam Data's online payment gateway is connected to many U.S. payment processors, and the company plans to work with Ingenico on a new product in early 2010.
