Look out, Square! Erply releases credit card reader for iPhone, iPad

Retail management software company Erply is planning a new mobile credit card reader for iOS devices, the company announced today.

Much like competitors Square and Intuit, Erply’s mobile card reader attachment will connect to iPads and iPhones and transmit a person’s credit card data to its own point of sale software for processing payments. It also connects to Erply’s inventory management software, which should cut down on record keeping for any of the company’s 20,000 clients.

Businesses can purchase an Erply card reader attachment for $50. The company charges a 1.9 percent transaction fee, which is considerably less than the 2.75 percent fee Square charges. However, while Square’s software is free to merchants, Erply’s software has a monthly cost ranging from $100 to $1,000.

But Erply’s credit card reader offers a few other advantages over its competitors. One of the most notable is probably that it brings NFC (a short-range communication technology used for mobile payments and information transfer) to iOS devices — putting the iPhone on par with Google’s Nexus S phone.

As VentureBeat’s Devindra Hardawar reported in March, Apple chose not to include the technology in the iPhone 5 because it was worried about the lack of a clear industry NFC standard.

Another notable advantage: Erply’s card reader connects through an iOS device’s charging port, meaning transactions might be more secure. By comparison, Square’s device connects through the audio port, which is susceptible to hacking, as demonstrated at this year’s Black Hat security conference.

Image via Erply