QuickBooks debuts mobile card readers that link to its software

As payments steadily migrate to cloud-based, digital channels with the rise of mobile e-commerce, Intuit’s QuickBooks unit is augmenting its online payment acceptance options with a mobile payment device that links to its accounting software.

The small-business accounting and payroll software giant is rolling out a palm-size mobile card reader that displays live step-by-step progress of a transaction from card-tap or swipe through authorization and completion via an LED panel, Intuit said in a Thursday press release.

Along with a free business bank account Intuit introduced last year via Green Dot Bank, QuickBooks' new gadget expands the financial tools available for its 5 million small-business customers.

The moves could help QuickBooks stave off defections to Square and PayPal, which each offer an array of mobile payment acceptance devices through merchant channels. QuickBooks primarily sells mobile payments acceptance through its own business software marketing channels.

The new $49 QuickBooks card reader, built with help from BBPOS, uses a patented approach to display the flow of a transaction and includes the option for customers to add a tip. Transactions are automatically reconciled with QuickBooks, streamlining steps for merchants currently using QuickBooks’ older scanners, plug-ins or Bluetooth devices to accept card payments in face-to-face settings.

A $39 countertop version of the card reader with the same messaging capabilities plus the ability to charge the handheld version wirelessly, will roll out later this summer, the company said.

“These industry-leading payment hardware solutions that pair seamlessly with the QuickBooks platform further enhance our robust end-to-end payments offering for small businesses and provide flexibility depending on how they do business and how their customers want to pay,” said Rania Succar, senior vice president of Intuit QuickBooks Money Offerings, in the release.