Groupon, the local deals firm, has launched a mobile payments app that enables merchants to accept payments on an iPad, according to Techcrunch.

The new app, which is called GrouponPOS, is the latest entrant to what is a crowded market, not least with Groupon’s own previous efforts.

Last autumn the company launched another iPad-based point-of-sale (PoS) system called Breadcrumb, which was pitched specifically at the restaurant trade. The latest foray appears to be a more general product for other sectors.

In addition to Breadcrumb, Groupon has previously launched a card reader that merchants can connect to an iPhone, iPod touch or Android smartphone in order to accept credit and debit card payments.

However, the company is not alone in seeing the opportunity among small businesses. Its rivals include Square and PayPal.

But for Groupon, the move still makes sense as its business has become increasingly mobile-oriented. Last week, it beat analyst estimates on its first-quarter revenues thanks to a better than anticipated performance from its mobile business.

The company said coupons sold via mobile devices accounted for 45 per cent of all transactions in North America in Q1, up from 30 per cent a year earlier.

Overall, the company saw a 7.5 per cent increase in revenues to $601 million in the quarter. However, Groupon is still loss-making although the deficit fell to $4 million compared to $11.7 million a year earlier.