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Merchant Warehouse Inc., a Boston-based independent sales organization, has developed its own free point-of-sale terminal software for use on Apple Inc.'s iPhone. Called MerchantWare Mobile, the software accepts credit and debit payments in which the merchant types in the card number, amount and other relevant data. A merchant must have a Merchant Warehouse account to use the software, says Henry Helgeson, Merchant Warehouse president and co-CEO. He tells CardLine sister publication ISO&Agent Weekly that transactions are sent directly to his company's network and do not use a third-party payment gateway. There are two other POS terminal applications in the iTune stores for the iPhone selling for $6.99 and $9.99 each, after discounts. Helgeson says mobile merchants who either choose not to or cannot afford a traditional wireless POS terminal are the primary customers for this software. Transactions move on the iPhone's existing wireless connection, whether it is a telco connection or a WiFi one, he said. In either case, the transaction is encrypted and no cardholder data is stored on the phone, Helgeson says. Merchant Warehouse also will have a version for third-party ISOs to sell as their own that Helgeson says should debut in mid-April.
