xPressTap Wants to Eliminate Payment Card Readers, Reduce Fees
With the Aug. 1 launch of its Tap2App merchant payment solution and pilot program, xPressTap Inc. is enabling micro-retailers and small business owners to use their smartphones to accept card payments without a dongle or a portable card reader.
The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based startup says its patented technology turns any NFC-enabled smartphone or tablet into a virtual card reader and can reduce merchant fees by as much as 25 percent.
Charges vary by market, but xPressTap has no sign-up or monthly fees and typically charges 2.25 percent + 15 cents per card tap and 2.75 percent + 15 cents per key-in card, according to its website.
The Tap2App technology has proprietary payment terminal functionality and EMV chip-reading capability that resides in the app, which eliminates the need for separate card readers or mobile point-of-sale devices.
Consumers don’t have to download an app to pay using Tap2App. The transaction is completed with a tap of a contactless payment card. Mobile wallet support is “coming soon.”
Mobile point-of-sale transactions are expected to account for roughly 20 percent of all global retail transactions made in 2021, and the total value of goods transacted through m-POS devices will exceed $2.3 trillion, according to Juniper Research.
Tap2App is launching initial pilots in Australia and New Zealand with merchants, as well as alliance and distribution partners. Contactless payments are well-established in Australia, where 82 percent of consumers are making contactless payments at least once week, according to Mastercard.
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