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The Sydney Morning Herald, 14 April 2009
Are you sick of chasing unpaid invoices for your small business? A new software product can let you take on-the-spot credit card payments as soon as the job is done - all you need is a mobile phone. MiniMint is a software application you can download and install on mobile phones to turn them into mini portable Eftpos terminals.
Compatible with Nokia, Windows Mobile and BlackBerry handsets, MiniMint allows a business to take instant credit card payments and even has the capacity to generate an electronic receipt. It's the third and latest product from Mint Wireless (mintwireless.com) and its chief executive, Alex Teoh, says it addresses one of the main "pain points" in running a small business - cash flow.
"We believe that payment is a big issue for a lot of businesses, especially in today's environment, and a lot of businesses don't realise what's available from a payment technology perspective," Teoh says.
"When people think of a credit card payment facility, they normally go to a bank and the bank really doesn't give you that much choice. They say: 'Look, we've got a fixed-line Eftpos terminal and a mobile Eftpos terminal.' And the mobile Eftpos terminal hasn't really taken off in Australia because of the cost . . . it's quite expensive."
Teoh, whose background in sales-force automation and CRM-type products helped him develop the idea, says a typical MiniMint customer would be a small business that delivers products or services on-site. Instead of chasing bad debts, Teoh says businesses can take credit card payments on the spot and have funds transferred to their bank accounts in real time.
The MiniMint system works by connecting to the business's online merchant account via a dedicated payment gateway set up by Mint Wireless. As such, it doesn't bypass any of the fees associated with credit card transactions and accounts but it does mean businesses won't have to lease expensive Eftpos devices. Instead, the software costs $199.95 for 12 months on a subscription basis. Annual renewal costs $199 and every transaction is charged at 99 cents. The initial purchase price includes 20 transactions.
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