Product: Wireless Merchant
Company: AGS Advanced Software Inc.

Mobile merchants can now carry a printer-equipped BlackBerry terminal. Soon, they may be able to skip paper entirely, while still capturing a signature.

The key to this option is a Nokia Bluetooth digital pen, which can capture any type of handwriting. AGS Advanced Software's new Wireless Merchant - software that turns a BlackBerry into a portable payment terminal - may soon be available with either a printer or the pen, which would capture customer signatures, transmit them wirelessly and generate an electronic receipt to be e-mailed. AGS is a software development partner of Research in Motion Ltd., maker of the BlackBerry wireless digital device.

The pen, which likely will be a new Nokia model, is expected on the market later this quarter. AGS is testing the pen's ability to capture signatures and place them on the correct line on the virtual, paperless receipt to send by e-mail to both the merchant and customer. The pen-based system is not yet available.

However, Wireless Merchant on a BlackBerry is available in the United States and Canada. When equipped with a card-swipe unit and a printer, the BlackBerry can be used for on-the-fly card processing.

It is suited for taxi and limousine drivers and delivery services, which will also have access to the BlackBerry's usual features, such as phone, e-mail, calendar, contact organizer and Web access.

AGS packages and resells Tender Retail's Merchant Connect Multi, server-based software that is Wireless Merchant's gateway to card processors. AGS President Marc Cashman said Wireless Merchant software is written for the BlackBerry because code written in the Java language is solid and secure, especially given the stability of the BlackBerry's own system, which has been on the market since 1998.

Wireless Merchant utilizes the BlackBerry's built-in 192-bit advanced encryption standard. Wireless Merchant is suitable for any wireless BlackBerry with a 4.0 or higher operating system. A PC with a 550 megahertz processor is required.

Thermal printer options include the O'Neil 2T or 4T printer, designed to withstand multiple drops; the Fujitsu FTP628WSL110 mobile printer; and the Woosim SC30, a compact model with a magnetic stripe reader.

All have Bluetooth wireless interfaces. Cashman said merchants needing an extremely rugged printer should opt for the O'Neil model; the Woosim is best when a highly portable model is needed. Both have a wireless range of approximately 50 yards.

Wireless Merchant is available as a complete software package, or it can be integrated into BlackBerry devices with printers for resale by AGS. "RIM had asked us if they could package this to telecom carriers, to provide an off-the-shelf solution for mobile payments," Cashman said.

AGS, a partner of enterprise software giants Sage Group and SAP, is in the final stages of developing a system for Barclays Bank in the United Kingdom. The system will enable merchants to seamlessly create an invoice on a Wireless Merchant-equipped BlackBerry, process a credit card payment, and transfer the invoice and payment into back-office accounting software, all in one real-time session.

AGS is also working with a major beverage vendor to transition soda truck deliveries from cash/COD to a Wireless Merchant card-authorization system.

AGS Advanced Software Inc.
613-614-1243
www.wirelessmerchant.ca