Digital Transactions reports that Transaction Network Services Inc. has entered the mobile payments space with an application that allows smart phones to act as credit and debit card acceptance devices. TNS, which specializes in point-of-sale and ATM network transaction systems, says it will set itself apart in the growing mobile payments space.
"We've heard that it's gotten sort of a wild west feel out there," Gerry Grealish, vice president of global product marketing for TNS.
Within the last year, Digital Transactions reports that a number of players have introduced products that allow merchants to process card transactions on mobile phones. As an example, VeriFone and Chase Paymentech Solutions LLC are providing merchant accounts for the PayWare Mobile product for smart phones. Many startups are also entering the growingly competitive space.
"It's a saturated market," said Nick Holland, a senior analyst at Aite Group LLC who follows mobile payments. "There's a lot that frankly seem like science projects. That would be my criterion of trust, if there's hardware involved."
TNS — which is collaborating with Blue Bamboo, a terminal vendor based in Shanghai, China, on its smart-phone offering — plans to market the product through ISOs and other resellers. The offer, expected to hit the market in mid-May, will feature a downloadable application and a device from Blue Bamboo that reads magnetic stripes and print or e-mail receipts, though merchants will also be able to e-mail receipts to customers.
