PayPal has launched two new PayPal Here card readers – a Chip and Swipe reader and a Chip and Tap reader – to help users take payments by card offline. Both readers enable small businesses to easily accept chip card and card swipe transactions nearly anywhere. The Chip and Tap reader, which is available with a convenient charging stand, also supports contactless payment methods such as Apple Pay®, Google Pay™, Samsung Pay®, and any other NFC-enabled devices or payment cards. You can see the new devices above.
Paypal says in the announcement:
“The new PayPal Here readers help business owners provide this level of mobility and convenience without the need for clunky hardware or wires tying them down to a traditional point of sale terminal. The new readers are smaller than a deck of cards for easy portability, connect to mobile devices via Bluetooth, and include a rechargeable li-ion battery for long battery life. This makes it easy for business owners to accept payments nearly anywhere they might need to – quickly and securely.”
The new PayPal Here readers are available now for $24.99 for the Chip and Swipe reader and $59.99 for the Chip and Tap reader. As is stands it looks like these new handsets are available only in the US. You can find out more about them and PayPal Here on this page. For information about the UK devices on the market, check out this page.
It looks like the priority with these new readers is to bring the price down and make the service more accessible. There is stiff competition in this arena and lowering barriers to entry is vital as the struggle for dominance continues.
