Mophie Unveils IPhone Payment Card Reader
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To complete a transaction, the merchant slides a consumer's payment card through the reader and enters on the phone's screen the amount of funds the consumer is going to pay. The merchant then turns the iPhone horizontally, and the application displays on the screen an area for customers to sign for the transaction using a finger, reports OhGizmo. The merchant then presses an onscreen button to process the transaction, and the application displays a notification letting the merchant know when transactions have been authorized.
Mophie, a Paw Paw, Mich.-based provider of technology accessory products such as smartphone batteries, last week at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas unveiled details regarding its payment card reader for Apple Inc.'s iPhone (see story) , according OhGizmo.com, a technology blog.
Mophie representatives did not return PaymentSource requests for information or comment.
Mophie incorporates the card reader into a case that covers the back and sides of the mobile phone. The card reader extends from the bottom of the phone. The product attaches to the iPhone through its 30-pin connector, which also connects the phone to a computer or other accessories, reports OhGizmo.
Mophie also launched a transaction application that enables merchants to complete purchases using an iPhone. Merchants may use the card reader with other payment card processing applications on the market, according to OhGizmo.
To complete a transaction, the merchant slides a consumer's payment card through the reader and enters on the phone's screen the amount of funds the consumer is going to pay. The merchant then turns the iPhone horizontally, and the application displays on the screen an area for customers to sign for the transaction using a finger, reports OhGizmo. The merchant then presses an onscreen button to process the transaction, and the application displays a notification letting the merchant know when transactions have been authorized.
Mophie has yet to set a price for the card reader but plans to make it available later this year, reports OhGizmo.
Mophie's card-payment device for the iPhone is debuting after Square Inc. and VeriFone Holdings Inc. announced their own iPhone card readers in December.
"The ease of the technology is causing an explosion" of card-related iPhone applications, says Todd Ablowitz, president of Double Diamond Group, a Centennial, Colo.-based consulting firm. "It's the space of the moment, but I question how much new transaction volume is really coming from it."
