We recently had an interview with Michael from iCCPay. iCCPay is a revolutionary mobile phone payment gateway that allows you to process customer’s credit card payment from anywhere. It is simple to use and has been adopted by businesses and companies all over the world. Take a look at what Michael had to say:
1. Tell us a bit about yourself. How did you get into iOS app development? How long have you been doing it for? Where are you based?
I’m a freelance/contract web developer specialising in custom built web application solutions on the Microsoft .NET stack. I got into iOS development as I had the idea for iCCPay and wanted to execute it and bring it to market. ICCPay is my first real iPhone app, but after I built iCCPay I went back to web development and haven’t done much iOS development since. I am based in Melbourne.
2. Have you had any bad/good/notable experiences with App Store approvals?
My app is pretty straight forward so I haven’t had any bad experiences. Just a minor hiccup once was when the reviewer didn’t pay attention to the “test” details to test the app in terms of credit card and merchant ID’s, but that’s about it.
3. Is it purely for businesses or can individuals use it to take payments from friends & family?
It is purely for business, as you must have a business merchant account with your bank, and then an Internet payment gateway account with one of the three companies iCCPay supports, and only then are you able to accept payments through iCCPay.
4. Would you suggest companies replace their conventional credit card payment terminals with this app? If so, why? What are the benefits?
I can’t really comment on that, it is on the company to asses and analyse all of their options and make up their mind as to what’s better for their purpose.
5. What kind of business is your app most fitted for?
Mainly small independent businesses, such as cleaners, market stall sellers, trades/sales on the road, hairdressers on the road, etc.
6. Where is the app most popular/most used as of now? Is it being used a lot in Australia?
It is been used a lot more in Australia as the 3 payment gateways iCCPay supports are Australian and New Zealand based. We don’t really have any metrics of usage, just the feedback we receive on our site, but the most popular use would be sales on the road such as market stalls, hairdressers, sales/trades people.
7. Do you plan to expand it’s territory and currencies that it accepts?
ICCPay is only a front end iPhone app for the 3 supported payment gateways, so if those 3 payment gateways update their currencies and regions they support, then iCCPay can support that. ICCPay relies on the payment gateway infrastructure of third parties.
8. What growth do you see for this app? What additions can people look forward to in the next version?
At the moment we have nothing planned unfortunately. Payments in the Australian market are extremely hard to get started with, as the banks are very very strict and it’s hard for the majority of people wanting to use iCCPay to get started with firstly creating merchant banking account. Most likely unless the company already has a web presence, they will find it very tough to get approval for a merchant bank account. That’s why I have had to stall on this app and make it cheaper. However I am closely watching new and emerging payment gateway companies in Australia that plan to solve these issues in the Australian market, so when they release their products on the market iCCPay will be sure to jump on integrating their services too.
9. Would you say Square is your main competitor?
Square is a different company, as they are also the payment gateway. Square has done an awesome job in the American market. I wish I could do the same in the Australian market however the Australian market is a lot different in terms of merchant payments and banks and extremely more harder to get anything up and running, but hopefully this all changes soon with new emerging companies that plan to alleviate this for Australians.
10. Are there any plans to create a credit card reader for the app?
No there are no plans for a credit card reader.
11. Do you have any concerns that Apple will build their own version of a payment gateway app?
I don’t have any concerns. I hope they do because it will obviously be an easy to use, great piece of software, which will drive more competition especially in regards to the banks.
12. What is your response to people’s concern about privacy and security of doing payments through a phone?
People should have no concerns about the security of iCCPay and the supported third party payment gateways. ICCPay does not go through any intermediary servers at all, it connects directly via SSL (the lock you see on browsers) to the payment gateway.
13. What security is in place to comfort people that their information cannot be hacked?
As stated above iCCPay connects directly to the third party payment gateways without going through any intermediary servers. The payment gateways themselves are reputable businesses who meet very strict and stringent security policies, which they must in order to operate. ICCPay does not store ANY credit card information that is a threat to the customers security on the device. In some ways iCCPay is more secure then giving your credit card to a waiter at a restaurant. They can go to the counter and swipe or take a copy of the card details. With iCCPay the customer can be present during the payment process and only numbers are typed, no swipe happens.
14. Any plans for an Android version?
No there are currently no plans for an Android version. Been a Microsoft developer myself, it is more likely a Windows phone version will be out sooner then an android version.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity for this interview.
