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Swiping it rich

Marisol Rueda

Rocio Brehm sells natural products under the brand Swiss Just de Mexico. She's found what she calls a "powerful weapon" to increase sales. In September, the businesswoman bought a payment system that accepts credit and debit cards, known as Emprendepay. It's designed for retail salespeople who often sell to informal groups like family and friends and can't afford to sign up for payment services through a traditional bank.

Paying the fees for the service have been worth it, says Brehm. Her sales are up 30%. "Almost all of my clients are women who used to pay me with the money they get each month, but thanks to Emprendepay they pay with a card and their husbands handle the bill," she says.

Here's how it works: The card reader does not need an active phone line to accept charges. The transactions it stores are carried out later via telephone or Internet connection. "Emprendepay breaks all the paradigms in terms of having a lot of requirements in order to receive payment with cards, although there are restrictions, such as a daily limit of US$350 in transactions per card," says Juan Carlos Viramontes, a director and partner at Link to Business, a Mexican company that created and markets the product. It was launched in August 2004. A month later the company had 120 customers.

Once registered with Emprendepay, at a cost of $44, a person can take credit-card payments and can make the first 20 transactions for free, after which the vendor must pay a commission of 5.8% plus sales tax, a percentage point higher than what banks normally charge. "Some might say that's expensive, but you don't pay an annual fee, nor do you have to make a minimum number of transactions," says Viramontes.

Emprendepay is backed by Spain's Banco Santander Serfin and MasterCard in order to drive credit-card use, says Xavier Pardo, new accounts director for MasterCard Mexico. "The cost of a terminal, which in addition requires a telephone line that costs between $300 and $600, is the kind of investment this type of business person won't make."

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