VeriFone, a manufacturer of point-of-sale hardware, announced the global expansion of its PAYware Mobile Service, a payment solution that allows small businesses to use their iPhones to accept credit and debit cards. The company, based in San Jose, Calif., made the announcement during the Mobile World Congress conference in Barcelona.

The PAYware system bundles a small attachment for the iPhone, including a card reader, PIN pad and contactless terminal, with downloaded software that connects merchants to the VeriFone payment gateway. The service allows merchants to accept not only credit and debit cards, but also EMV chip-enabled cards as well as contactless payments using near field communication (NFC) technology. The combination of hardware and software includes VeriFone's Verishield Protect, an encryption product that protects card data from end-to-end.

According to the announcement, VeriFone will be rolling out the solution to global markets starting with North America in the first quarter of 2011. PAYware will be introduced to Latin America, Europe and Asia throughout 2011.

The PAYware system is only available at the moment on iPhones, but according to Pete Bartolik from VeriFone's media relations group, other mobile operating systems, including Android and Blackberry, will be supported sometime during the first half of 2011.

"PAYware Mobile struck a chord with micro merchants in North America who wanted to be able to quickly and securely accept credit card payments anywhere by leveraging a cost-effective, mobile smart phone," Paul Rasori, VeriFone's senior vice president of marketing said. "VeriFone is now leveraging our global partnerships and distribution capabilities to provide a mobile payment platform that supports regional demands for EMV, NFC-based applications, and secure, PCI-compliant PIN entry."

The PAYware solution is a part of an increasingly crowded field in the United States. Several companies, including Intuit and Square, offer similar products aimed at allowing small businesses to use smartphones as point-of-sale terminals. The inclusion of contactless and chip-and-pin acceptance with the PAYware solution means PAYware will have an advantage outside the United States, where those payment methods are more prevalent.