AT&T extends mobile payments to small businesses

AT&T (NYSE:T) will team with wireless payment solutions provider Apriva to introduce a pair of mobile payment applications targeting the small business segment. According to AT&T, the browser-based AprivaPay application (priced at $14.95 per month) allows businesses to process credit and debit transactions directly via their smartphone browser, effectively creating virtual storefronts in the field while minimizing back-office processes like billing. The AprivaPay Professional app (priced at $19.95 a month) is downloaded directly to devices, enabling SMBs to integrate the service with an optional card reader and receipt printer to access the financial benefits of "card present" transactions.

Citing recent data issued by independent market research firm Generator Research, AT&T notes the worldwide mobile payments market is expected to grow from $68 billion in 2009 to more than $600 billion by 2014, translating to a compound annual growth rate of more than 50 percent.

For more on AprivaPay:
- read this release

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