VeriFone Systems Inc. is working with Lenovo to provide the terminal maker’s payWare Mobile technology with Lenovo’s mobile point-of-sale solution, a ThinkPad Tablet 2. Through the integrated device, which contains the Intel Atom Z2760 processor and is supported by the Microsoft Windows 8 Pro operating system, retailers may transition to a mobile, tablet-based system for payment card acceptance.
Various retailers are piloting the VeriFone and Lenovo platform this summer, and the companies say the system should generally be available in the U.S. in September.
From VeriFone’s press release:
Retail sales associates can use the ThinkPad Tablet 2 mPOS platform to engage customers and deliver responsive support, quickly scan barcodes, and securely accept card-based payments, from anywhere in the store. Available with best-in-class security solutions such as McAfee and VeriFone’s VeriShield Total Protect, Secured by RSA, for end-to-end encryption, the ThinkPad Tablet 2 mPOS platform provides state-of-the-art data protection for acceptance of mag-stripe credit cards, signature debit, and store specialty transactions.
It’s interesting that VeriFone, which traditionally has earned most of its revenue from sales of stand-alone payment terminals, is embracing tablets with its payWare Mobile solution, which includes a card-reader sleeve that connects to the tablet. Many merchants are looking to the added mobility and flexibility tablets provide when compared with traditional terminals. What’s also interesting is that VeriFone makes no mention of smart card acceptance or the ability to accept contactless payments, namely Near Field Communication. Under card-network rules, merchants must be able to accept EMV smart cards by October 2015, or they assume liability for any fraudulent transactions resulting from using the mag-stripe when presented with an EMV smart card for payment. As part of the EMV liability shift, merchants also must be able to accept NFC payments once they are able to take EMV cards.
VeriFone’s release makes no mention of the product’s price, and it may be leaving such decisions up to product resellers, such as independent sales organizations. As such, merchants should consider a two-year leasing option on the technology, if available, to stay flexible on EMV acceptance and to avoid taking on liability after October 2015. By then we should assume an EMV-compliant tablet option will be available, either through VeriFone or another supplier.
Click here to read more from VeriFone press release. Visit VeriFone’s Point of Sale Strategy Session on Payments Journal.