Verifone Prices are Going Up

Due to the new PCI regulations affecting processing equipment manufacturers, Verifone is adding an across the board fee of about $10 for every terminal that they distribute. This means that processors and resellers will most likely be passing that cost on to their customers, so everyone can expect all Verifone terminals to be more expensive in the very near future.

Verifone is the second largest processing equipment manufacturer in the world, and their rivals Hypercom and Ingenico, have not made any moves to increase prices. Although this is only about a 5% price increase, I think that this will severely hurt Verifone’s reputation among banks and processors. Since banks and processors decide which terminals they make available to their customers, this could move to the point that Hypercom and Ingenico gain major ground on the US credit card terminal market. Hypercom’s most recent terminal line, is extremely competitive, and Verifone may have just opened the door for them to make a move.

Verifone’s stock has lost roughly 80% of it’s value since this time last year, while Hypercom has kept loses below 70%. I think this is a poor manner to handle a difficult situation. Verifone would have received a much better response by increasing the prices of their equipment instead of adding a fee to each one being sold. Sometimes the presentation is more important than the action, and I think that this may end up being one of those times.