<PAGE>   1
    AS FILED WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION ON NOVEMBER 14, 1997
                                                           REGISTRATION NO. 333-


                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549


                                    FORM S-8
                             REGISTRATION STATEMENT
                                      UNDER
                           THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933


                              HYPERCOM CORPORATION
               (EXACT NAME OF REGISTRANT AS SPECIFIED IN CHARTER)

         DELAWARE                                         86-0828608
(STATE OR OTHER JURISDICTION                            (I.R.S. EMPLOYER
OF INCORPORATION OR ORGANIZATION)                      IDENTIFICATION NO.)


                 2851 WEST KATHLEEN ROAD, PHOENIX, ARIZONA 85023
               (ADDRESS OF PRINCIPAL EXECUTIVE OFFICE) (ZIP CODE)


             HYPERCOM CORPORATION 1997 EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN
                              (FULL TITLE OF PLAN)


                                 ALBERT A. IRATO
                              HYPERCOM CORPORATION
                             2851 WEST KATHLEEN ROAD
                             PHOENIX, ARIZONA 85023
                     (NAME AND ADDRESS OF AGENT FOR SERVICE)

                                 (602) 504-5000
          (TELEPHONE NUMBER, INCLUDING AREA CODE, OF AGENT FOR SERVICE)


                         CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                       PROPOSED MAXIMUM             PROPOSED MAXIMUM            AMOUNT OF
   TITLE OF SECURITIES         AMOUNT TO BE                OFFERING                AGGREGATE OFFERING          REGISTRATION
    TO BE REGISTERED           REGISTERED(1)(3)       PRICE PER SHARE(2)                 PRICE                     FEE
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<S>                            <C>                    <C>                          <C>                         <C>
Common Stock                      625,000                     $16.00                       $10,000,000             $3,031
$0.001 par value
</TABLE>

(1)      In addition, pursuant to Rule 416(a) under the Securities Act of 1933,
         this registration statement also covers an indeterminate number of
         shares as may be required by reason of any stock dividend,
         recapitalization, stock split, reorganization, merger, consolidation,
         combination or exchange of shares or other similar change affecting the
         stock.

(2)      Estimated pursuant to Rule 457(h) solely for the purpose of calculating
         the registration fee, based on the initial offering price of the 
         Registrant's Common Stock on November 13, 1997.

(3)      In addition, pursuant to Rule 416(c) under the Securities Act of 1933,
         this registration statement also covers an indeterminate amount of
         interests to be offered or sold pursuant to the plan described herein.

                                     PART I
              INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTION 10(A) PROSPECTUS

         The documents containing the information specified in Part I, Items 1
and 2, will be delivered to participants


                             Exhibit Index on Page 7
<PAGE>   2
in accordance with Form S-8 and Rule 428 under the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended.

                                     PART II
               INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

ITEM 3.  INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE.

         The following documents have been filed by Hypercom Corporation (the
"Company") with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and are hereby incorporated by reference into
this Registration Statement:

         (a)      the Company's prospectus, dated November 13, 1997, filed
                  pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act of 1933, as
                  amended.

         (b)      the description of the Company's capital stock contained in
                  the Registrant's Registration Statement on Form 8-A, filed 
                  with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 22,
                  1997, pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Securities Act of 
                  1934.

         All documents subsequently filed by the Company pursuant to Sections
13(a), 13(c), 14, or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, prior to the
filing of a post-effective amendment which indicates that all securities offered
have been sold or which deregisters all securities then remaining unsold, shall
be deemed to be incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement and to
be a part hereof from the date of filing such documents. Any statement contained
in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein
shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this Registration
Statement to the extent that a statement contained herein or in any subsequently
filed document which also is or is deemed to be incorporated by reference herein
modifies or supersedes such statement. Any statement so modified or superseded
shall not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part
of this Registration Statement.

ITEM 4.  DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES.

         Not applicable.

ITEM 5.  INTERESTS OF NAMED EXPERTS AND COUNSEL.

         Not applicable.

ITEM 6.  INDEMNIFICATION OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS.

         The Company's Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation
provides that a director of the Company shall not be personally liable to the
Corporation or its stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary
duty as a director, except for liability for: (i) any breach of the director's
duty of loyalty to the Company or its stockholders; (ii) acts or omissions not
in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of
law; (iii) liability for payments of dividends or stock purchases or redemptions
in violation of Section 174 of the Delaware General Corporation Law; or (iv) any
transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit. In
addition, the Company's Certificate of Incorporation provides that the Company
shall to the fullest extentauthorized by the Delaware General Corporation Law,
as the same exists or may hereafter be amended (but, in the case of any such
amendment, only to the extent that such amendment permits the corporation to
provide broader indemnification rights than such law permitted the corporation
to provide prior to such amendment), indemnify and hold harmless any person who
was or is a party, or is threatened to be made a party to or is otherwise
involved in any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding,
whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative by reason of the fact
that such person is or was a director or officer of the corporation, or is or
was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee
or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other
enterprise, including service with respect to an employee benefit plan
(hereinafter an "Indemnitee") against expenses, liabilities and losses
(including attorneys' fees, judgments, fines, excise taxes or penalties paid in
connection with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended,
and amounts paid in settlement) reasonably incurred or suffered by such
Indemnitee in connection therewith; provided, however, that except as otherwise
provided with respect to proceedings to enforce rights to indemnification, the
Company shall indemnify any such Indemnitee in connection with a proceeding (or
part thereof) initiated by such Indemnitee only if such proceeding or part
thereof was authorized by the board of directors of the Company.

         The right to indemnification set forth above includes the right to be
paid by the Company the expenses
<PAGE>   3
(including attorneys' fees) incurred in defending any such proceeding in advance
of its final disposition; provided, however, that, if the Delaware General
Corporation Law requires, an advancement of expenses incurred by an Indemnitee
in his capacity as a director or officer (and not in any other capacity in which
service was or is rendered by such Indemnitee, including, without limitation,
service to an employee benefit plan) shall be made only upon delivery to the
Company of an undertaking, by or on behalf of such Indemnitee, to repay all
amounts so advanced if it shall ultimately be determined by final judicial
decision from which there is not further right to appeal that such Indemnitee is
not entitled to be indemnified for such expenses under this section or
otherwise. The rights to indemnification and to the advancement of expenses
conferred herewith are contract rights and continue as to an Indemnitee who has
ceased to be a director, officer, employee or agent and inures to the benefit of
the Indemnitee's heirs, executors and administrators.

         The Delaware General Corporation Law provides that indemnification is
permissible only when the director, officer, employee, or agent acted in good
faith and in a manner reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best
interests of the Company, and, with respect to any criminal action or
proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe the conduct was unlawful. The
Delaware General Corporation Law also precludes indemnification in respect of
any claim, issue, or matter as to which an officer, director, employee, or agent
shall have been adjudged to be liable to the Company unless and only to the
extent that the court of Chancery or the court in which such action or suit was
brought shall determine that, despite such adjudication of liability but in view
of all the circumstances of the case, such person is fairly and reasonably
entitled to indemnify for such expenses which the Court of Chancery or such
other court shall deem proper.

ITEM 7.  EXEMPTION FROM REGISTRATION CLAIMED.

         Not applicable.

ITEM 8.  EXHIBITS.

         The Exhibit Index is located on page 7.

ITEM 9.  UNDERTAKINGS.

         (a)  The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:

                  (1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are
         being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement:

                           (i) To include any prospectus required by section
                  10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933;

                           (ii) To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events
                  arising after the effective date of the registration statement
                  (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which,
                  individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental
                  change in the information set forth in the registration
                  statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or
                  decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar
                  value of securities offered would not exceed that which was
                  registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the
                  estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form
                  of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule
                  424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price
                  represent no more than 20% change in the maximum aggregate
                  offering price set forth in the "Calculation of Registration
                  Fee" table in the effective registration statement;

                           (iii) To include any material information with
                  respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed
                  in the registration statement or any material change to such
                  information in the registration statement;

                  provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) do
                  not apply if the registration statement is on Form S-3, Form
                  S-8 or Form F-3, and the information required to be included
                  in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained
                  in periodic reports filed with or furnished to the Commission
                  by the Registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of
                  the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by
                  reference in
<PAGE>   4
                  the registration statement.

                  (2)      That, for purposes of determining any liability under
                           the Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective
                           amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration
                           statement relating to the securities offered therein,
                           and the offering of such securities at that time
                           shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering
                           thereof.

                  (3)      To remove from registration by means of a
                           post-effective amendment any of the securities being
                           registered which remain unsold at the termination of
                           the offering.

         (b)      The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for
                  purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act
                  of 1933, each filing of the registrant's annual report
                  pursuant to section 13(a) or section 15(d) of the Securities
                  Exchange Act of 1934 (and, where applicable, each filing of an
                  employee benefit plan's annual report pursuant to section
                  15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) that is
                  incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall
                  be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the
                  securities offered therein, and the offering of such
                  securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona
                  fide offering thereof.

         (c)      Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the
                  Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers
                  and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the
                  foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been
                  advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange
                  Commission such indemnification is against public policy as
                  expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the
                  event that a claim for indemnification against such
                  liabilities (other than payment by the registrant of expenses
                  incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person
                  of the registrant in the successful defense of any action,
                  suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or
                  controlling person in connection with the securities being
                  registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its
                  counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent,
                  submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question
                  whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as
                  expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final
                  adjudication of such issue.
<PAGE>   5
                                   SIGNATURES

         Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the
registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all
of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this registration
statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly
authorized, in the City of Phoenix, State of Arizona, on this 14th day of
November, 1997.

                                   HYPERCOM CORPORATION, a Delaware corporation

                                   By: /s/ Albert A. Irato
                                       -----------------------------------------
                                       Albert A. Irato

                                   Its: President and Chief Executive Officer

         Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this
registration statement has been signed by the following persons in the
capacities and on the date indicated.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
Name and Signature                      Title                                         Date
------------------                      -----                                         ----
<S>                                     <C>                                           <C>
/s/ George Wallner                      Chairman of the Board of Directors            November 14, 1997
-------------------------------------   (Principal Executive Officer)
George Wallner

/s/ Albert A. Irato                     Vice Chairman of the Board of                 November 14, 1997
-------------------------------------   Directors, President and Chief
Albert A. Irato                         Executive Officer

/s/ Paul Wallner                        Vice Chairman of the Board of                 November 14, 1997
-------------------------------------   Directors
Paul Wallner

/s/ Jairo Gonzalez                      Vice Chairman of the Board of                 November 14, 1997
-------------------------------------   Directors
Jairo Gonzalez

/s/ Thomas E. Linnen                    Chief Financial Officer and Director          November 14, 1997
-------------------------------------   (Principal Financial and Accounting
Thomas E. Linnen                        Officer)
</TABLE>

                            
<PAGE>   6
                                  EXHIBIT INDEX

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
Exhibit Number       Description                             Page or Method of Filing
--------------       -----------                             ------------------------
<S>                  <C>                                     <C>
4.1                  Amended and Restated                    Incorporated by reference to the
                     Certificate of Incorporation of         Company's Registration
                     the Company                             Statement on Form S-1 (File
                                                             No. 333-35461)

4.2                  Amended and Restated Bylaws             Incorporated by reference to the
                     of the Company                          Company's Registration
                                                             Statement on Form S-1 (File
                                                             No. 333-35461)

4.3                  Hypercom Corporation 1997               Incorporated by reference to the
                     Employee Stock Purchase Plan            Company's Registration
                                                             Statement on Form S-1 (File
                                                             No. 333-35461)
5                    Opinion of Snell & Wilmer
                     L.L.P.

23.1                 Consent of Coopers & Lybrand
                     L.L.P., independent accountants

23.2                 Consent of Snell & Wilmer               Included in Exhibit 5
                     L.L.P.
</TABLE>