• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, January 11, 2013

Groupon on Friday released an updated version of its Groupon Merchants app for Android devices that incorporates its mobile payments service. When launched in September, Groupon Payments, the daily deals company’s answer to services like Square Register and PayPal Here, was only available for the iOS version of Groupon’s merchant app.

Given that Android is the world’s dominant mobile operating system, with a 53% share of smartphones in the U.S., the move will give Groupon Payments a broader footprint. Groupon has boasted that its offering is the most cost-effective way to take card payments, charging 1.8% for MasterCard, Visa and Discover cards, along with a fee of 15 cents per swipe. For American Express cards, it charges 3% plus the fee.

Businesses that don’t run Groupon deals pay a higher rate of 2.2% to accept MasterCard, Visa and Discover, and the 15-cent fee.

Besides accepting card payments, the upgraded Groupon Merchants app for Android includes the ability to scan and redeem customer Groupons and track the success of deals, view transaction history and daily sales reports, process refunds, and email customer receipts. The company also provides 7-day-a-week support and encrypts credit card information to help insure data safety.