In-App card payments for iPhone expands mCommerce capabilities

We have sent out a Press Release today, launcing the iPay API, which allows iPhone App developers to embed card payments in their Apps, without having to use the Apple payment infrastructure.

As Apple currently charges 40% of the revenue generated, the ability to avoid these charges opens up the App market to a whole range of goods that could not be sold previously.

We think this is going to be a major innovation towards driving mCommerce - consumers using their mobile devices to make purchases while on the move.

The reason it's called the "IPay API" is because it's a palindrome - the developers insisted on this.

The solutions is already live - we use it ourselves in the iPhone Virtual Terminal we released in March. If you are an iPhone App developer looking to support in-app payments, contact WorldNet via our web site.

The text of the Press Release is below.

[Start Press Release]
WorldNet expands iPhone mCommerce capabilities with in-app card payments

Application developers for the iPhone can now add credit card payment capabilities to the apps they develop, enabling eCommerce merchants to use the iPhone as an additional channel for the first time.

WorldNet, the Dublin-based provider of secure online and mobile payment services to eCommerce merchants, today launched iPay for the iPhone, allowing developers embed credit card payments into iPhone applications for the first time.

To date, all payments from iPhone apps have been processed by Apple, who retain up to 40% of the revenue. The iPay solution allows payments to be processed by the merchants’ existing card acquiring bank, without having to go via the Apple payment infrastructure.

Speaking at the DEVDAYs seminar for iPhone Developers, in Dublin, WorldNet Head of Product Innovation John Clarke says “I am delighted to announce the development of the first open card payment library for the iPhone, as our latest product innovation for our customers. The iPhone has the potential to be a game-changer in enabling mCommerce. This innovation unlocks that potential, and opens the iPhone up to a whole new audience, allowing eCommerce merchants to sell as efficiently via an app as they currently do via their web sites”.

“Currently mCommerce on the iPhone is restricted to smaller ticket items, and digital goods, as the iPhone charging structure make it unattractive to eCommerce merchants. The release of iPay marks a major expansion of the potential reach of the iPhone, and a real step forward towards making mCommerce a reality”.
[End Press Release]