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CardFlight Inc. is adding point-of-sale terminals to its roster of SwipeSimple-compatible products with the launch Tuesday of SwipeSimple Terminal. This puts the SwipeSimple POS software on more devices in addition to tablets, personal computers, and mobile devices. More than 50,000 merchants currently use SwipeSimple, CardFlight says.
SwipeSimple Terminal initially is available on two Pax Technology Inc. POS terminals, with others to follow, says Derek Webster, CardFlight founder and chief executive. The software is expected to be available for these devices later this quarter. Resellers will purchase the hardware from Pax or distributors, he says.
The impetus for extending the product to POS terminals stems from merchants, Webster says. “As we expanded SwipeSimple to include features like Customers, Invoices, and more, it became increasingly clear that bringing our signature software to the traditional terminal space was the right next step in our mission to make payment acceptance fast, dependable, and effortless,” Webster says in an email. Customers is a customer-relationship management tool for scheduling payments, setting up installment payments, and creating and maintaining customer data that can store card-on-file date.
“SwipeSimple Terminal takes the traditional terminal that consumers and merchants are used to and integrates our tested SwipeSimple software to provide small-business owners with significantly more payment-acceptance and software-management tools,” Webster says. “These include a simple, intuitive touchscreen interface, on-screen tip prompts, customizable digital receipts, searchable transaction history, item catalog and inventory management, and powerful business-insight tools via the SwipeSimple Merchant Web Dashboard.”
Smart POS terminals, which enable merchant access to more than payment acceptance, are booming. Though shipment totals are difficult to assess, Boomtown Inc., a firm that helps merchants and resellers work out POS issues, says that while a provider might have installed smart POS terminals in 3% to 4% of its clients’ locations a few years ago, the proportion now is closer to 20%.
Webster says he is confident the SwipeSimple Terminal has ironed out what issues similar devices might have had, such as being too complicated, confusing, or expensive.
The devices will be sold to resellers on a wholesale basis, with the final price set by the sales partner, in the same manner in which SwipeSimple is sold. CardFlight will not disclose the wholesale price because it depends on the number of merchants using the company’s software. CardFlight also wants its resellers to control how the product is bundled and priced for their merchants and channel partners, Webster says.
“We expect that software fees for SwipeSimple Terminal will be in the same range as the SwipeSimple Mobile App or SwipeSimple Merchant Web Dashboard,” Webster says. “There will be no restrictions from CardFlight on the end-merchant pricing of the hardware, software, or bundled solution. We continue to give merchant acquirers and ISOs the ability to bundle and price however meets their business needs.”
