Merchants such as Marblesoft and TT New York are among the early adopters of PayEverywhere, a new cross-platform mobile payment processing service for merchants.

Merchant E-Solutions Inc. has introduced the new platform that includes payment applications for iPhone, iPad, Android and BlackBerry devices. At the same time, it offers merchants services such as data encryption, payment processing and the ability to email receipts.

“The advantage of PayEverywhere is that a merchant can get both the application and a merchant account through just one company,” said Kevin Gallagher, general manager, ecommerce at Merchant E-Solutions, Redwood Shores, CA. “So we service the solution for a merchant from account signup to payment processing to funding the merchant.”

Merchant E-Solutions introduced its first payments application late last year for BlackBerry smartphones. This was followed by the Android app and, last week, the introduction of apps for iPhones, iPods and iPads.

During this time, the company tested the solution with several merchants and,  on May 5, it launched the comprehensive solution nationally.

Smartphones process payments
With the simple addition of a plug-in card reader, merchants can use their smartphones and the PayEverywhere application to accept credit cards from customers by sliding the card through the reader, getting an authorization and having the customer sign right on the mobile device and then email the customer a copy of the receipt.

One merchant already using the solution owns  a combined art gallery and restaurant. Previously, the business used a wireless terminal for payments processing during off-site events.

Now, it is using PayEverywhere on an iPhone and iPad, enabling the business to show art images and process payments from the same mobile device.

“PayEverywhere has robust functionality for managing customer records to repeat buyers and supports recurring payments,” Mr. Gallagher said.

“So this merchant can allow a customer to buy more expensive artwork by making payments over a period of time and the transactions occur according to a pre-determined schedule.”

Customer records are stored on the PayEverywhere servers so that no sensitive card data is stored on the mobile device.

Additionally, transaction information is encrypted as soon as the card is swiped through the reader.

And, because the card is electronically read, merchants qualify for card present transaction rates which are lower than rates for manually keyed transactions, per Mr. Gallagher.

The solution also enables tip processing, the ability to create customer records and establish recurring billing records.

“More and more merchants are interested in mobile payments solutions,” Mr. Gallagher said. “In addition to  traditional mobile arenas like field-based services, other businesses like restaurants and hotels with room service are looking at mobile payments solutions.”

Looking ahead, the mobile payments solutions that will do the best are those that appeal to a large variety of merchant types.

“Many of the mobile applications today are targeted at smaller merchants or specific industries, but those with the greatest mass appeal in terms of functionality and ease of use should come out on top,” Mr. Gallagher said.

“The payment world is also expanding from consumer-to-business to business-to-business and person-to-person transactions,” he said.

“With PayEverywhere, as long as a merchant has a smartphone with access to the Internet, the merchant can process payment transactions, so they can turn equipment they already have into a credit card machine.”

Final Take