Credit card scanner comes to iPhone, Apple Stores

Business software specialist Intuit is bringing an entire credit card payment solution to the iPhone, an addition that will help boost the device’s presence among small business users.

Intuit has teamed up with a small company called Morphie to launch a credit card reading peripheral for the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G (no support for iPhone 4 yet). It’s targeted at on-the-go professionals like plumbers and electricians who need to accept credit card payments but are not necessarily wired to a credit card terminal.

Similar software options already exist across mobile platforms – Intuit does already have an app called GoPayment – but they require the user to manually type in all the credit card information. This solution would make the process much easier by incorporating an actual card reader.

Apple, which has been trying to convince people that the iPhone is a good device for business consumers, will even devote shelf space to the new product at its retail locations across the country.

The Complete Card Solution system will retail for $180. Intuit’s credit card processing software costs an additional $13 per month.

In response to questions from ZDNet, Intuit noted that the iPhone made the most sense at it has just one predominant form factor. Although Blackberry and Android are more common phones for small business owners, developing credit card scanners for those platforms is a much more cumbersome ordeal due to the fact that so many different devices are out there.

Intuit does, however, offer mobile payment software solutions across those other platforms.