Filed under: Retail, Internet Tools, iPhone, App Review
Credit card terminals for iPhone
It's no secret that the iPhone is much more than just a smartphone. Apple has even started giving iPhones to Apple Store Concierge employees to schedule appointments and manage the store. The ability to complete mobile transactions with credit card terminals is a great use of the iPhone for employees on the go or companies that do home or office calls. Like most applications in the iTunes App Store, there is no shortage of alternatives available for you to try. Here's a roundup of some of the most popular credit card terminals for iPhone.
Credit Card Terminal [iTunes Link] - $0.99
This app is pretty awesome. So awesome in fact, that it was featured internationally in an Apple commercial. The 99 cent application offers a (very) cheap alternative to expensive terminals and hardware. With a clean and easy to use interface, users can enter credit card information, complete transactions, and even view and refund past sales. The app also gives you the ability to collect customer information. The developer even offers telephone and email support and will walk you through setup.
Billing: Credit Card Terminal [iTunes Link] - $19.99
Another "easy to use" credit card terminal that is guaranteed to help make transactions easier. Sporting a pretty cool, and somewhat different kind of interface, the $20 application makes setting up a sale as simple as tapping a button. One cool feature offered in this version is the ability to get a customer's signature.
Some screenshots from the featured applications:
Gallery: Credit Card Terminals
Transactions [iTunes Link] - $8.99 (Free version [iTunes Link] also available)
This app is touted as a credit card terminal that "accepts credit cards anytime, anywhere for anything". Accepting both PayPal and Authorize.net payments, Transactions comes in two flavors: a premium version and a lite/free version. While almost identical, the free version limits you to two transactions every 12 hours.
iSwipe Global [iTunes Link] - $12.99
If you're handling purchases outside the US, this is a good app for you. Designed for international merchants, iSwipe Global supports Canadian Dollars, Euros, British Pounds, U.S. Dollars, Yen, Australian Dollars, New Zealand Dollars, Swiss Francs, Hong Kong Dollars, Singapore Dollars, Swedish Kroner, Danish Kroner, Polish Zloty, Norwegian Kroner, Hungarian Forints, Czech Koruny, Israeli Shekels, and Mexican Pesos among others. In addition to PayPal, it also supports Cybersource payments.
Pocket CC Terminal [iTunes Link] - $29.99
So what if you want to use your terminal for multiple stores, projects, etc? Pocket CC Terminal might be what you're looking for. The big feature that sets this one apart is support for multiple merchant accounts that you can quickly and easily switch between. The app offers simple navigation, and promises support for many more payment gateways in the future.
A quick search on iTunes yields many more results for credit card terminals and transaction utilities. Many of the features found in one can also be found in others, sometimes with just subtle differences. For example, all of the featured apps have support for Authorize.net and offer ways to store customer information. If you're looking for more specific features -- geotagging, PayPal support, a specialized interface, etc... -- be sure to look closely at the app description and reviews. Some of these terminal apps can be pricey, so make sure it has the features you need before you buy. Contacting the developer for specific answers is always a good idea, but it's especially important if the app is going to be the cash register for your company.
If you're using one of these apps, let other TUAW readers know how you like (or dislike) it by leaving a comment below.
This app is touted as a credit card terminal that "accepts credit cards anytime, anywhere for anything". Accepting both PayPal and Authorize.net payments, Transactions comes in two flavors: a premium version and a lite/free version. While almost identical, the free version limits you to two transactions every 12 hours.
iSwipe Global [iTunes Link] - $12.99
If you're handling purchases outside the US, this is a good app for you. Designed for international merchants, iSwipe Global supports Canadian Dollars, Euros, British Pounds, U.S. Dollars, Yen, Australian Dollars, New Zealand Dollars, Swiss Francs, Hong Kong Dollars, Singapore Dollars, Swedish Kroner, Danish Kroner, Polish Zloty, Norwegian Kroner, Hungarian Forints, Czech Koruny, Israeli Shekels, and Mexican Pesos among others. In addition to PayPal, it also supports Cybersource payments.
Pocket CC Terminal [iTunes Link] - $29.99
So what if you want to use your terminal for multiple stores, projects, etc? Pocket CC Terminal might be what you're looking for. The big feature that sets this one apart is support for multiple merchant accounts that you can quickly and easily switch between. The app offers simple navigation, and promises support for many more payment gateways in the future.
A quick search on iTunes yields many more results for credit card terminals and transaction utilities. Many of the features found in one can also be found in others, sometimes with just subtle differences. For example, all of the featured apps have support for Authorize.net and offer ways to store customer information. If you're looking for more specific features -- geotagging, PayPal support, a specialized interface, etc... -- be sure to look closely at the app description and reviews. Some of these terminal apps can be pricey, so make sure it has the features you need before you buy. Contacting the developer for specific answers is always a good idea, but it's especially important if the app is going to be the cash register for your company.
If you're using one of these apps, let other TUAW readers know how you like (or dislike) it by leaving a comment below.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Victor said 5:23PM on 9-23-2009
I would say illicit peddlers of goods just got a fantastic way to make cash free transactions. Of course... if I was a supplier of goods I certainly wouldn't be using credit cards...
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Mike said 6:09PM on 9-23-2009
paranoid much?
Phil said 5:27PM on 9-23-2009
I use Billing and I love it. Customers are able to leave tips with cc payments now. Before this was impossible to do on the wireless terminal from hypercom.
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Chad said 5:49PM on 9-23-2009
Would love to hear from readers as to which apps are most popular. Also, any thoughts on which merchant account works best and is most reasonable. PayPal? Authorize.net?
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Jonathan A said 6:25PM on 9-23-2009
I wonder when Apple will start using something like this in their own stores? My local Apple store uses Symbol credit card terminals running Windows Mobile. Ugh.
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Phil said 6:47PM on 9-23-2009
Very true. Every time I go into an apple store they carry around a clunky yellow and black device which looks like PDA/wireless terminal running windows mobile or something on it. Would be a lot cooler if they adopted a solution on the iphone vs that device they use. Will help them also showcase the iphone a whole lot more for real business appeal.
tavella said 6:53PM on 9-23-2009
Are any of these apps PCI compliant? I can see big issues ahead....
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spmp said 7:30PM on 9-23-2009
Problem is the inability to swipe the cards. This leads to higher costs and a greater chance of charge-backs. That is why they don't use them in the Apple stores.
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johnmc said 8:20PM on 9-23-2009
What will make this awesome is if someone makes a magnetic stripe reader peripheral to feed the data into one of these apps.
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jpronline said 12:58AM on 9-24-2009
With the 3GS's ability to take close up photos, all that's needed is some good text recognition built into one of these and no more manual entry will be necessary. Of course users would still need to verify that the numbers were recognized correctly, but the app should be able to at least verify that the number is valid.
There's a Sudoku app that's implemented some pretty novel recognition and apps like Evernote have server side recognition.
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ken said 4:56PM on 11-03-2009
We will be offering our personal Point of Sale terminal starting in Jan 2010. It offers a card reader that connects to the 30-pin dock connector and was developed under the Made For iPod/Works with iPhone program. The app downloads your product database from a simple XML formatted file stored online. The first offering will combined the reader and app with a merchant service account from Authroize.net. The reader and app basically just forwards the encrypted stripe data (and your charge of course) to the processor. This will be a CARD PRESENT account as opposed to non-reader based (CARD-NOT-PRESENT) accounts like all current apps, giving the vendor lower cost fees. Preliminary look at: http://www.pos4iphone.com
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