PayStand launched a mobile app for iOS which it claims is “the first all-in-one mPOS (mobile point of sale) solution in the US to enable credit card, cheque and Bitcoin payments.”

Merchants on the PayStand platform can accept payments on their iPhones, and get “significantly lower” transaction rates than existing POS systems, the company said.

The app enables credit card payments via a card reader that fits in the audio jack of the iPhone. Merchants can swipe customers’ Visa, Mastercard or American Express cards, or offer one of the app’s alternative payment methods.

To process a cheque payment, merchants take a photo of the cheque, directly debiting the consumer’s bank account.

To accept Bitcoin, the app displays a unique QR code which the consumer scans to pay with the funds routed to the merchant’s Bitcoin wallet.

The app is a being offered as an extension of PayStand’s Payments-as-a-Service platform, to provide online checkout and payments for a flat monthly subscription instead of a complex fee structure.

According to founder and CEO, Jeremy Almond: “Why should credit card processors take such a big cut off the top of a business’ revenues? By offering alternative payment options like cheque capture and Bitcoin which are zero-percent, we’re taking a big step toward our goal of eliminating merchant transaction fees.”

“We’re giving merchants a single dashboard for managing all their payments, and a path to zero transaction fees,” he added.

PayStand said it does not mark up transaction fees, but aims to give subscribers the lowest possible credit card rates and alternative zero-percent payment options.

As the PayStand subscriber base grows, the company is negotiating progressively lower credit card rates which are automatically passed on to customers in a process they call “rate sourcing”.

PayStand has lowered its credit card rate (currently at 2.49 per cent) four times in the past twelve months, and is planning another drop in the second quarter of 2015.

“We leverage the power of community to drive down costs for our merchants,” said Almond.

The free app is currently available on the App Store and the PayStand card reader is shipped on request. Merchants must create a PayStand account on their website.