Square, the innovative mobile payment collection system and credit card swiping peripheral for iPhone caught on like wildfire when it launched last year. With just an iPhone and the card scanner, users could set up retail shops and begin accepting credit cards just about anywhere.
Canadian point of sale machines require an additional layer of security for transactions to be performed, which solutions like Square and ROAMpay don't support; so it's taken longer for these solutions to launch in Canada.
In the last few months, however,they've become a hotly competitive industry in Canada, just like they have in the U.S.
In June, Netsecure launched Kudos Payments in Canada, and Vancouver-based Payfirma launched its iPhone POS sale app in July. Today, Payfirma has followed up by launching the same app for BlackBerry, which includes support for its mobile card swiper similar to the one that made Square so popular.
"Payfirma’s mission is to bring efficient payment technologies to all Canadian businesses, large and small,” noted Michael Gokturk, CEO and founder of Payfirma, “now consumers and merchants can accept payment for goods and services on their Blackberries anywhere with a cellular or WIFI signal – thereby increasing their sales efficiencies and improving the overall checkout experience.”
The app is free in BlackBerry app world, and users must have a valid merchant account to process transactions.