Merchant Warehouse Inc. says its mobile payment-acceptance software for smartphones now works with devices using Microsoft Corp.’s Windows Mobile and Google Inc.’s Android operating systems.
The additional phones extend MerchantWare Mobile’s potential coverage to approximately 90% of the smartphones sold in the United States, according to the Boston-based ISO.
The ISO launched a version for Apple Inc.’s iPhone last year and later a version for Research In Motion Ltd.’s BlackBerry devices.
All of the MerchantWare Mobile versions are free to download, though merchants must have an account with the ISO to process transactions using the software, Henry Helgeson, Merchant Warehouse co-CEO, tells ISO&Agent Weekly.
No sensitive card data are stored on phones using MerchantWare Mobile, he says.
All versions of MerchantWare Mobile use attached card readers to enable card-present trans-actions rates, which generally cost merchants less than card-not-present rates.
The ISO wants to get more merchants to accept payment cards, but doing so requires going after merchants that do not already accept them, such as home sales and home services. “We recognize that the mobile micro-business is growing and will be a driving force in our economy,” Helgeson says. “Our real competition is cash and checks.”
Merchants have downloaded MerchantWare Mobile software more than 15,000 times since last April, Merchant Warehouse says. On average, Merchant Warehouse signs more than 200 merchant accounts per month because of the ISO’s mobile-acceptance software, the company says.
