VeriFone Holdings Inc.’s Payware Mobile payment software for Apple Inc.’s iPhone is now available from Apple’s iTunes store, the San Jose, Calif.-based terminal maker says.
VeriFone originally announced the service in December (
The service and device originally were to be available Jan. 15. “Payware Mobile was one of the very first hardware/software combinations that Apple had to certify and the very first for this class of device, so the approval process was slightly delayed due to working out the kinks,” a VeriFone spokesperson says.
Merchants also receive a card reader, which slips around the phone, that encrypts sensitive card data at the swipe, VeriFone says, noting it does not send unencrypted card data through the software on the phone because it uses VeriFone’s VeriShield protection to encrypt payment data. The reader is free, but normal shipping charges apply, VeriFone says.
The free software meets the Payment Card Industry Security Standard Council’s Payment Application Data Security Standard, VeriFone says.
Transactions made with Payware Mobile are sent via the iPhone’s Wi-Fi or telecommunications connection to VeriFone’s gateway for routing to appropriate processors.
Merchants with existing merchant accounts will pay a $15 monthly gateway fee and a one-time $49 sign-up fee. Payment gateways enable online connectivity to multiple processors. Merchants also pay VeriFone 17 cents per Payware Mobile transaction.
VeriFone says it will direct merchants without existing accounts to a variety of payment processors, and it will sell the product directly and through acquirers and independent sales organizations, which will offer their own pricing.
The terminal maker plans to use online social media, such as videos on YouTube, to promote the service.
