Sage Pay has launched a mobile payment solution aimed at small businesses, the creatively named Sage Pay Mobile. The solution enables businesses to accept card payments using a smartphone, using a handheld terminal which connects to the mobile via Bluetooth.

A collaboration between Sage Pay, payments specialist CreditCall and hardware supplier Thyron, the solution will be initially released as a pilot scheme. Sage Pay Mobile encrypts the data from a customer’s card at source, so the merchant never sees the card details. It has been approved with the major UK acquiring banks, and meets the latest PCI terminal security standards.

Sage Pay Mobile is intended to help small businesses in the utilities and services sector to extend credit payments to their customers for the first time, the company says.

“There are over half a million businesses in the UK who are still unable to accept card payments,” says Sage Pay CEO Simon Black. “Small businesses need to be able to take payments anywhere and at anytime with a reliable card reader. Furthermore, this solution provides a real boost for Sage 50 Accounts Mobile users by enabling connected services.”