Intuit has partnered with Mophie to help small businesses get everything they need in one package to start processing credit cards via Apple’s iPhone. 

The Complete Credit Card Solution product integrates Intuit’s GoPayment credit card processing application and quick-to-activate merchant account with the Mophie marketplace iPhone credit card reader. The package is now available in Apple Retail Stores and soon on Apple.com.

“Intuit has learned from its 7 million small business customers that they increasingly need to be able to run their businesses on the go via their mobile phones,” said Sharna Brockett, senior PR manager at Intuit, Mountain View, CA. “One of the first areas where we saw that we could help is with mobile payments, as we’ve been in the payments business since 2001.

“We saw that a lot of small businesses, especially those in the field trades like construction or plumbing, didn’t have an easy, secure and affordable way to get paid after they completed a job,” she said.

“We therefore created the GoPayment mobile app 18 months ago to meet this need as well as the need of mobile retailers who sell products at trade shows and street fairs as well as people in professional services such as lawyers and accountants.”

Start processing
As part of the new service, Intuit GoPayment offers a quick and easy application process that is designed to let merchants start processing credit cards on their iPhones in as few as 15 minutes.

GoPayment is also compatible with QuickBooks Mac to help save time in keeping business financial files up to date.

In addition to faster merchant account activation and integration with QuickBooks Mac, this latest version of GoPayment offers easier navigation with the ability for customers to sign their bill via the iPhone touch screen.

It is also possible to now add inventory items to receipts, which can instantly be emailed or sent by text to a customer for their records.

How it works
The new Intuit Merchant Account application process is designed to let small business owners easily and quickly apply and be approved to start processing credit cards.

A user can apply from the GoPayment application, online or by calling Intuit right from their iPhone.

By adding the Mophie marketplace card reader, merchants can save time by securely swiping credit cards instead of entering numbers by hand.

After swiping the card, data is immediately encrypted using Intuit’s security methods.

Customers authorize the payment by signing their name on the iPhone touch screen. The merchant can then send them an email or text receipt. GoPayment processes the credit card within seconds and funds are deposited into the businesses’ bank account.

An additional option lets businesses integrate GoPayment with QuickBooks Mac to easily and quickly match the right customer and invoice in QuickBooks.

“It gives merchants everything they need in one product to take credit card payments on their iPhone,” Ms. Brockett said. “The solution is designed for small businesses ranging from the micro businesses with just the sole proprietor to businesses with 50 employees.

“To make it accessible to a variety of small businesses, we’ve kept the price affordable and let them add up to 50 employees to one account at no additional cost,” she said.

Final take
Giselle Tsirulnik is senior editor of Mobile Commerce Daily