Initially, the mobile payments acceptance market was dominated by hardware and software providers such as Square, Intuit and VeriFone. Traditional processors, however, like North American Bancard and Heartland Payment Systems have started to introduce their own systems. Heartland, who released an Android-based payment acceptance application more than six months ago, recently launched an iOS-based version. Heartland, however, is targeting a very specific market segment:
“I don’t see us going after the 14-year-old kid who wants to accept credit cards for mowing the lawn,” [Heartland Executive Director for Product Development Michael W. English] says, noting the importance of underwriting to control risk. “We’re going after the traditional merchant.” Service businesses and delivery outfits are a top priority, he says.
Also, unlike other applications, Heartland’s solution provides functions such as pre-authorization, voice authorizations, and gift card processing.
The app is provided free to merchants; Heartland only charges merchants on an interchange-plus basis. Heartland also preparing its point-of-sale terminal business for mobile payments, announcing that they will launch a terminal compatible with both Google Wallet and Isis in June.
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