Erply card reader attached to an iPad
Erply, a firm that provides retail management software, is releasing a mobile card reader for the iPad and iPhone that will pitch it into direct competition with the likes of established mobile payments players, such as Square. Similar to competing services, the firm’s plug- in reader will transmit customer payment details to the firm’s book-keeping software. Erply will hope that charging its 20,000 retail clients a lower transaction fee of 1.9%, versus Square’s 2.75%, will give it an edge in an increasingly competitive market. The firm’s software charges, which range between USD100 and USD1,000, may be less of an incentive.
The move will bring NFC technology, which is expected to drive USD50bn worth of mobile payments by 2015, to the iPhone after Apple said it would not integrate the technology until an industry standard has been established. Erply’s plug-in connects to devices via their charging socket, which is believed to guarantee a more secure transaction than via audio plug-ins, such as Square’s, which are more vulnerable to hacking, reports VentureBeat. This is likely to be popular among consumers, given a recent report from YouGov claiming that only 13% of UK adults are willing to adopt mobile payment, indicative of ongoing wariness among customers who are apprehensive about sharing credit card details.
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