PayPal will soon launch a new version of its PayPal Here credit card reader which is expected to accept NFC payments as well as chip-and-PIN credit cards. Merchants and small business owners using PayPal Here will be able to accept all new cards coming to market by October, as well as payments from mobile phones.
NFC (near field communications) technology allows for touchless payments, where consumers can simply hold up their phones or cards to a card reader, and the reader will gather the payment details. The current version of PayPal Here is only set up for traditional magnetic strip credit cards, where a merchant swipes the card through the device and uses a corresponding app on his phone or tablet to process the payment.
PayPal Here is designed to give small businesses an opportunity to accept credit cards without having to pay extensive fees or buy a register with a card reader. With a simple dongle and a mobile device, business owners can accept multiple payment forms and give their customers the desired convenience. For instance, a taxi company can use iPads with PayPal Here readers in their cabs to provide riders with more payment options than cash alone.
"The new NFC-enabled PayPal Here Chip and PIN reader will simply pair via Bluetooth with a smartphone or tablet (for iOS and Android) and accept secure payments through the PayPal Here app anywhere," said Hill Ferguson, Senior Vice President of PayPal, in a statement. "Businesses of all sizes will now be able to accept contactless payments, wherever they do business."
The price of the new reader has not been released. The product will be introduced in the United Kingdom and Australia this summer, and in the United States later this year.