The terminal's size, design and multiple connection capabilities meets merchants' mobile point of sale (mPOS) demands—especially in North America, Australia and parts of Asia—where 3G connectivity is increasingly required for payment device acceptance.

"It is no secret that merchants increasingly want a user experience that parallels that of a consumer electronics device," said Bill Nelson, executive vice president of Global Product Management for VeriFone. "The VX 690 achieves this goal while providing 3G connectivity that is critical in many markets where 2G networks are transitioning to 3G. The user experience of the terminal combined with its robustness, flexibility, and technical communication capabilities will not only enable payments today—it will enable commerce tomorrow."

Enhanced Communication Flexibility

The VX 690's Bluetooth, 3G radio and Wi-Fi combination provides fast, wireless payment convenience as well as fewer dropped transactions in virtually every type of merchant environment. Dual SIM functionality enables the terminal to quickly connect to different networks to keep transactions moving, while built-in GPS allows merchants to track the location of every transaction, providing greater visibility into operations and inventory across multiple stores.

The terminal is PCI PTS 3.0 compliant and features built-in security protection that includes end-to-end encryption to protect data at every point of the transaction.

Simple, Consumer Electronic Style Design

The VX 690's simple, handheld design is similar to consumer technologies and easily fits on countertops and in users' hands. Its built-in functionality includes:

3.5" capacitive touch display that allows merchants to enable commerce with marketing messages via video streaming and audio capabilities
Single micro-USB connector for added convenience and functionality
EMV capability for supporting PIN, Signature, and no Cardholder Verification Method (CVM)
NFC capabilitFC capability to support contactless and mobile wallet transactions
Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) support
Peripheral capability for potential future expansion, including biometric scanner/barcode reader

"Virtually all consumers use portable technologies providing enormous capabilities in their day-to-day lives. Using these technologies has become second nature, not only because of their practicality, but because they present advanced functionality in a brilliant, yet simple package that is easy to use," said Nelson. "The VX 690's purpose-driven design merges advanced, secure mPOS capabilities with the type of sleek and simplistic form factor that is familiar to consumers and can help merchants improve the customer experience."

The VX 690 from VeriFone is expected to be available in late 2014.