Add-on will let any tablet process credit card transactions

Since we covered Square back in 2009, the credit-card-processing service for mobile phones has gone on to handle as much as USD 4 million in payments every day. No great surprise, then, that VeriFone last month upped the ante with its PAYware Mobile Enterprise for Tablets, a combination of hardware and software that enables retailers to use tablets for much the same purpose. Similar in many ways to its current PAYware Mobile offering for cell phones, VeriFone’s hardware component for tablets will encase devices such as the iPad or Galaxy Tab with a magnetic card reader, giving retailers a way to use the devices as store checkout systems. Compatible with PIN-based debit cards and NFC devices, the system is scheduled to begin tests this fall, with wider availability next year, according to an Electronista report. And whereas the Square device has been widely embraced by small and medium-sized businesses, VeriFone’s offering will reportedly offer integration for bigger stores that rely on older machines or code. So much of the business world has already moved into the mobile sphere, it’s only natural to see tablets brought into the fold as well. Retailers around the globe, one to try yourselves? Spotted by: Florent Lesauvage