WePay Launches Mobile App for Small-Business Card Payments

Small businesses are often the toughest sell for payments automation, and WePay is attempting to boost its penetration into this market by offering a new native app for iOS that enables remote invoicing and credit-card charging. 

The service' s features include the ability to send and manage itemized, professional invoices, a virtual card charging terminal, and live customer support. Fees are $0.30 per transaction for all credit cards, including American Express—there are no set up charges or monthly fees.

"We felt that the needs of small business service providers weren't being met by existing mobile payment apps," said Bill Clerico, CEO of WePay, in a press release.

WePay was founded in 2009 to facilitate the pooling of funds for group payments. The company, which was backed by startup funding consortium Y Combinator, has since started to migrate toward Square and PayPal's small business turf—but with a slight difference. Rather than using an attachment to read card payments, WePay allows small businesses who send invoices to accept credit cards within its payments app.

The company, whose backers include Highland Capital Partners and high-profile Silicon Valley angel investors such as Max Levchin, has also developed new payment "buttons" that allow merchants to charge consumers without redirecting them to another payment page. When on a site using WePay, the consumer clicks "buy now" and proceeds to a secure cloud-based page on the WePay server.