FIRMA FOOTING

Vancouver-based Payfirma was the first company to launch mobile payments in Canada, letting merchants process payments using smartphones or tablets, websites or traditional terminals — “frictionless commerce,” as Payfirma co-founder and CEO Michael Gotkurk has called it.

Two years ago, CIBC began offering Payfirma to its business banking clients, like Barr’s Roofing, Siding and Sheet Metal Ltd., who were looking at payment options. With Payfirma, businesses can take credit and debit payments online through their websites, through stores on traditional terminals or by using smartphones and tablets as mobile terminals.

In addition, Payfirma gives its clients real-time reporting on sales and payments so businesses have an up-to-the-minute picture of customers, employees and sales trends.

Krista Barr, administrator for Barr’s, is delighted with the changes to her business since adopting Payfirma, even though the learning curve was a bit steep at first. “I can’t say it enough,” she says. “Their customer service right from day one has been excellent. They explain it all step by step, the whole process.”