Spark targets SMEs with mobile payments service from Optimizer

Spark, formerly Telecom, is targeting small business customers with a mobile payments service via a credit card reader that plugs into smartphones or tablets.

The Swipe Reader Spark's using comes from New Zealand firm Optimizer. Swipe is a mobile application that allows businesses to take payments via smartphones or tablets through EFTPOS, plus debit and credit cards anywhere there's a Wi-Fi or 3G hot spot connection. The app is available for both Android and Apple products.

There's a $399 set up fee, excluding GST, which covers a merchant account and one Swipe Reader. The fee for additional Swipe Readers is $299 plus GST per reader. Transaction processing costs are a fixed rate of 1 cent per transaction for EFTPOS. Credit, debit and tap & go fees of 2.75% for domestic transactions rise to 3.25% for international transactions, and there's a domestic transaction fee for registered charities of 0.95%.

There are no ongoing monthly fees and customers don't have to sign a fixed-term contract. Payments are promoted as being settled into your account within three business days. Customers need a Swipe merchant bank account but don't need to change banks.

"With mobile payments you can turn your smartphone or tablet into an EFTPOS, debit, credit and tap and go card reader. So you can take payments wherever you are," Spark says.

"You can also text or email an invoice to cut down on the paper work."

Brett King, the New York-based founder of downloadable bank account provider Moven, in New Zealand this week unveiling a partnership with Westpac, tweeted; "Very interesting to see a network operator @sparknz focused on @Square style payments in NZ"

Square is a San Francisco-based mobile payments company led by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey.

Mobile payments for SMEs is a market the big local banks are aggressively targeting. There has been BNZ's initiative via the PayClip product from Sydney-based firm Mint, there's also ANZ's Direct Mobile and ANZ FastPay, Westpac's Get Feedback and Get Paid, and ASB Accept mPOS, which uses payments technology from Smartpay.