Hi
As I work in Merchant Services as a day job, supplying Chip & Pin Terminals and Merchant Accounts, I have been following developments very carefully over the past year or two.
The reason I recommend this instead of others is because it is an actual Merchant Account and not just an app! Also as there is no need for hardware, it is simpler, there is less that can go wrong and you won't lose the app!
In Answer to your questions: In Blue
How do the merchant charges using this system compare to a normal credit card processor?
I would say slightly higher at 2.00 %, Monthly charge is £10.00 - instead of Terminal Lease £30.00 and Minimum Monthly Charge £20/£30.
There is no equipment lease and no contract. You can leave with a months notice
How do transfer of funds work? Are there any major delays?
Funds are transferred 3 to 7 Working days. Bang in the middle from experience so-far!
What's the charge back policy and what indemnities are typical?
Like all card acquirers, CashFlows®, if possible will submit the evidence provided by the supplier to attempt to reverse the Dispute with the buyer's credit card issuer.
If the credit card association determines that the Dispute was justified, the supplier will have to bear the cost of the Dispute and any admin fee associated with it.
This is the same for all Merchants
I'd also be interested in your thoughts about how you get people past the whole trust thing of doing this on an iPhone or iPad. If someone was to put an iPhone in front of me to take payment I have to be honest I would have a few concerns.
Using an iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch is exactly the same as using a 'Portable GPRS Terminal' used by millions of people all over the world. They also have a Sim Card to transfer the data.
There is no data stored on the device after the transaction completion and the app is fully compliant with PA-DSS regulations and uses 128-bit SSL certificates for a high level of transaction security.
Phew! I hope that answers your question, without boring you to tears!!
Thank you for your interest
Kind regards
Chris