While Square (squareup.com) remains the king of mobile transactions for small businesses, taxis and other services globally, the company has so far stayed away from Windows Phone, sticking with the iPhone and Android instead. File it under the old “not enough market share” problem that has plagued Microsoft.
Some of that is changing though as PagSeguro (Brazil) and Cube (getcube.com) have finally embraced Windows Phone, allowing small companies to use their preferred device when doing mobile credit card transactions.
PagSeguro
The Brazilian-based national e-commerce outfit PagSeguro (pagseguro.uol.com.br) this week released an official app for Windows Phone 8. The app was recently tested by the site FaixaMobi and it was evidently a joint venture between PagSeguro, Nokia and Microsoft.
The app of course is free to use and the card reader can be purchased direct from PagSeguro for R$ 118.80 (or 12 x £ 9.90). The app is actually compatible with both Windows Phone 7.x and 8 but the card-reader only works with 8.x devices (those on 7.x can manually enter in CC numbers for transactions).
You can see the combo of the card reader and app in action in the video below. The app itself can be found here in the Store (or scan the QR code).
Cube Credit Card Terminal
Likewise, Cube has launched their Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8 apps this month and it too is currently available to download. Cube is a similar service to Square but they of decided to go wider in their support by embracing Windows Phone and Windows 8 (yes, you can even use it on your Surface).
Cube for Windows Phone 8
From the app description:
“The Cube Credit Card Terminal allows you to create a merchant account within 60 seconds and immediately process Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express credit card transactions from your Windows Phone at only 2.5% per swiped transaction (or 3.5% per keyed transaction) with fast settlement to your bank account!”
We don’t run a small business ourselves, but having Cube available to us for POS on our Windows Phone seems like a move in the right direction. While Square remains the prize to have, at least those in Brazil and in the US now have some recourse, should they need such a service.
Pick up Cube here in the Windows Phone Store or if on Windows 8, you can get that app here. You can learn more about Cube and their pricing from their website: getcube.com
Anyone here wanting to use point-of-sale services for Windows Phone? Have you used Cube or PagSeguro? Let us know in comments.
