IPhone Wireless Credit Card Machine Swiper

Question

Does anyone know of a mobile credit card machine/swiper that is compatible with and iphone. I am trying to connect a small credit card machine to my iphone so I can except credit cards at this summers Art Festivals.

Answer 1

No, but I would consider using a connection other than cellular to process credit cards, for a number of reasons.
Using a non-encrypted cellular link to process credit cards is just a really dumb idea. I certainly would not be handing you my credit card to do so on a show floor. Think about it: what is transmitted?
• the full 15 or 16 digit card number
• the 4 character card expiration date
• the 3 or 4 character CVV2 code
• a street address numeric value
• the ZIP code associated with that address
That's all anyone needs to process legitimate looking but clearly fraudulent transactions. In addition, you cannot use your iPhone, smartphone or mobile handset for voice calls while doing so.
Using an IP link, preferably a hard-wired one, may entail modifying your current processing relationship with your clearing operation and with your bank. If you are clearing presently using an IP interconnection, you are likely doing so while running an application on your computer, not using a standard terminal.
The simplest way to process credit cards is with a plain old telephone line and a simple swipe terminal, such as a TRANZ 330 or similar dial-up device, either a spare you have on hand and already programmed, or an additional one you can obtain from your merchant bank. If you have a dial tone, you can process cards rapidly in this manner. While it can be a shared line, you will need to maintain control over its use to insure that the line is free when you want to process cards.