The Charge Anywhere service has released a new version of its Audio Jack Card Reader that is compatible with BlackBerry smartphones to add to its arsenal of devices that already support iOS and Android devices. Similar to the Square credit card reader, the Charge Anywhere reader connects to a BlackBerry via the 3.5mm audio jack for easy access. Here are just some of the data BB users can capture with Charge Anywhere POS:
-Signature capture
-Invoice number
-Employee number
-Tips
-GPS location Read More
Mobile wallets are a hot topic right now, and the #1 question people keep asking is if they’re safe. The short answer, YES they are safe!
But how do I know that you’ll be safe? Because your credit cards are credit cards, no matter if they’re in your real wallet or your digital wallet. With MasterCard handling the transactions, you’ve got the same protections if someone gets ahold of your smartphone and starts making fraudulent purchases as you do with your ‘real’ credit card. You can report a card as being stolen the same way you do now—just because it’s stored inside a digital wallet doesn’t mean it’s any less safe! Read More
Last Thursday, I had the opportunity to attend MasterCard’s Media Day event in NYC. The invitation was rather vague as to what to expect, though I did know that it concerned mobile payments. What shocked me was that this wasn’t some test demo of a future technology—MasterCard has teamed with Google’s Wallet software, Citi credit cards, and Sprint’s phone network to put together live shopping experiences that we can expect to actually be using in a few weeks. This holiday season, most of us will be pulling out wallets stuffed to the brim with receipts, coupons, wish lists and more. But if you’ve got a supported phone with NFC technology on Sprint, then you could be tapping your cell phone all over the place, making everyone else look distinctly 20th century. Read More
If you’re following me on Twitter, you may have noticed that I’m all over television, radio and even the web today talking about what’s new in mobile payments. There’s so much to talk about with this new tech, which if you haven’t been keeping up is all about using your phone as a credit card, finally becoming a reality. Two key pieces to make this happen are MasterCards PayPass technology, without this NFC infrastructure mobile payments wouldn’t be happening right now. MasterCard has over 150,000 merchants using this technology in the US & 300,000 places globally. Stores ranging from McDonalds to Macys are embracing the PayPass technology & more stores will certainly be rolling this out. The other is Google’s Wallet software, which is where you store and access your credit card information, get offers & can manage your spending limits.
Google Wallet mobile app is for right right now only on the Google Nexus S 4G phone from Sprint, but over the next few months Google will be rolling the software out to other Android smartphones (and who knows, maybe even Android tablets like the Dell Streak 7 I’m giving away over at Small Biz Go Mobile!)
Unlike other apps you might be used to, Google Wallet can only be launched with a PIN number. So pick a good one! Once inside you’ll see the different parts of Wallet — a place where you can access your credit cards or prepaid Google card, Google Offers which brings you special deals and coupons, and a place to store your rewards cards. Really, the app is replacing almost everything in your Wallet except your drivers license! So when my Online Editor Shy wrote that it’s time to throw away your wallet, he wasn’t kidding!
Unlike your real wallet, Google’s version automatically locks itself after a period of time which you can configure. This means that nobody can use your credit card or change your settings without that PIN! so be sure to pick a good one.
Wallet was released last week, so if you’ve got a Nexus S and are on Sprint, what are you waiting for? Start using your phone as your wallet today!
In my opinion, the easiest way for a small business owner to accept credit card transactions is via the Square service/credit card reader. Their is no merchant account needed, the transaction fees are very competitive, and you can easily swipe credit cards using the Square credit card reader that attaches to your iPhone or Android device via the headphone jack.
Square has stepped up its game and now makes the actual credit card experience better by making the transaction process faster. It has improved the transaction speed by eliminating a number of screens that slowed the process down. According to Square, an entire transaction can now be done in approximately four seconds. Read More
This mobile transactions battle between Square, Intuit, and VeriFone is heating up! Looks as if Intuit just raised the stakes with the demonstration of its GoPayment mobile credit card processing application sporting new NFC (Near-Field Communication) technology that could set it apart from competitors in the market.
The current GoPayment system consists of a credit card reader that you plug into your smartphone’s headphone jack to swipe a customer’s credit card to complete a sale. Square and Verifone both have similar devices that you have to physically add to your phone for credit card swiping functionality.
GoPayment ReaderSqaure ReaderVerifone Reader
Intuit’s GoPayment demonstration at this year’s Google I/O Conference shows NFC technology bring used to transfer credit card data via radio waves, eliminating the need for the actual card or any add-on card reader hardware. During a transaction, a user simply holds their smartphone (with their financial information stored on an accompanying mobile app) near a Point-of-Sale (POS) device or another smartphone that will read your credit card information and complete the sale. Thus making it easier and faster for customers to pay, and simpler for small business owners to get paid.
Innovation is happening rapidly in the mobile payment space and we want to be ready to help the millions of small businesses and consumers we serve benefit from the latest technology.
The mobile tech industry has been investing in the creation/evolution of the virtual wallet for quite sometime. Intuit, with this recent show of support in NFC and mobile credit card transactions, may have just fast-tracked itself to the front of the race. Look out for more mobile device manufacturers to start pumping out NFC-enabled gadgets like the Google Nexus S currently on the market (and what Intuit used for its demo) that can support this technology towards the end of 2011 and well into 2012.
Then you haven’t been paying attention to the internet over the past year or so. They are called QR Codes and simply put, they give users access to the information encoded on the image by simply scanning the image using your smartphone’s camera and a QR Code reader app. Instead of typing a long url or manually adding a new contact, just create a code and other mobile users can scan it and automatically gain access to the encoded information quicker than typing on a tiny smartphone keyboard.
The Mobio QR Reader app not only gives users the ability to scan the codes automatically (no taking a picture first), but now you can make mobile payments to anyone who accepts “Mobio” by simply scanning a code that corresponds with your purchase.
Once you download the app, create a profile, and enter your financial information, Mobio organizes all of your transactions through one trusted device. No more credit cards or wallets, data entry or passwords. Mobio is not just smartphone user-based, businesses and organizations can reach out to a broader “mobile” audience by offering Mobio payments to patrons. Using easily (and securely) encoded and scanned QR code technology, Mobio makes identity management and protection simple and convenient for both individuals and organizations, resulting in increased value from purchases and better management of all interactions.
The Mobio QR Code Reader app is a free download for both iPhone and Android mobile devices. For more information, visit the Mobio Website.
Allow me to paint a picture. You’ve got a hot product (at least you think it’s hot) that you want to sell at your local festival, expo, or event. You know you’re going to get those “I only carry plastic with me” folks that want your product, but are not willing to go hunt down an ATM and pay a ba-jillion dollars in ATM fees. Now you’ve just started and may not have the credit history to be extended a merchant account (or have no clue what a merchant account is) and you don’t have the funds to buy a credit card machine. Let’s be honest, you really don’t want to bother with messing around with the receipt paper that ALWAYS gets stuck in those machines either!
Enter Square, a mobile credit card system that allows users to accept credit card payments anywhere without a merchant account using your mobile device. Imagine how smooth a transaction would go if you could just whip out your mobile device, and swipe your customer’s credit card and email them a receipt? With Square you can do just that.
Whether it’s an iPhone, iPod Touch iPad, or Android mobile device (sorry BlackBerry folks), you can use Square’s mobile card reader that’s about the size of a tic-tac container that plugs into your device’s headphone port and allows you to accept credit cards as payments.
You don’t need the reader or merchant account to accept credit card payments, simply download the app from your smart phone’s respective app store, link a bank account and you’re set. It would behoove you to go ahead and apply for the reader, because the fees associated with swiping a card versus manual input are cheaper, I mean, more monetarily advantageous.
Speaking of fees, although you don’t need a merchant account, there are no setup fees, fees for the mobile reader, monthly charges, or contract required (crazy right?). All Square asks of you is a 2.75% + 15 cents per swiped charge and 3.5% + 15 cents per manual card input per transaction. Which, I might add, is lower than most merchant account fees per transaction
Again, imagine how smooth your credit card transactions would go, and how cool you would look doing them if you were using Square.
For more information, and how to get signed up, visit squareup.com Or watch the video below:
In other BlackBerry news…
