I"m starting work on an iOS application that will have an ipad work as a kiosk to purchase food and apparel.
Also we'll be setting the app up as a html5 webview with all the credit card processing happening on our own platform offsite. So the app opens, the user(checkout clerk) is presented with mobile site version of items for sale and they tap on then items to add them to the basket.
When finished a card is swiped and that information is sent from the native app to the html form which then posts the information to our credit card processor.
So my two questions are
1) What good credit card readers exist that work with the ipad and support sending unencrypted card data into a native iOS app.
2) How do I get the data from the native app into the html page to post it to our servers.
I implemented the app using an iMag card reader by idtech which plugs into the old iphone 30 pin connector. The documentation isn't great but their development kit does come with an example program to install on your iOS device, that you can use as an example.
I've also implemented it using the Shuttle card reader by idtech, which plugs into the audio jack similar to square and other popular platforms. This can also be purchased with a development kit and works on both iOS and Android platforms and works with newer iOS devices that don't have the old 30 pin connector.
The second question is quite a bit longer to explain, so I'll just say it depends on the device you're using, the firmware on it, and the documentation. Typically there will be some service running listening for card swipes and a notification will occur when a card is swiped that your app will have to listen for.