In an effort to better serve its overseas customers, VeriFone (PAY) has begun rolling out a version of its mobile payments software, SAIL, that accepts chip and PIN cards.
The new platform, the point-of-sale terminal maker says, gives banks and acquirers in more than 100 countries where EMV is the standard option of giving merchants access to a Square-competing technology that can be custom fitted for small businesses.
One of SAIL’s big draws is its open developer portal that allows programmers to better integrate the dongle to existing point of sale systems and payment terminals.
The announcement is just VeriFone’s latest push into mobile payments. Earlier this week,
“Mobility in general is increasing our total addressable market,” says VeriFone chief executive Doug Bergeron, in an email to American Banker. “It’s that simple.”
Indeed, VeriFone’s ability to grow in the future depends on it being able to support a shift to mobile payments, says Wedbush analyst Gil B. Luria.
“That means much of their incremental investment is likely to be spent on creating more products that facilitate mobile payments,” he says.
Bergeron added that, as of today, SAIL EMV is available in the U.S. though there isn’t much demand for it.
It’s “a must have outside of the USA,” says Bergeron. “It’s not surprising we are first to market, as we spend $150 million a year keeping 85 countries EMV compliant.”
Still, there are other Square-competitors outside of the U.S. that are doing the same thing.
For instance, mPowa, a British company that is marketing its own Square-competitor, offers
And iZettle, a Swedish company with similar technology, is
