PayPal said Thursday the payments company was introducing a chip and PIN version of its PayPal Here mobile payments solution, making it easier for European businesses to accept digital payments.
Specifically designed for use in countries where credit cards rely on chip and PIN technology, rather than swiping a card, for transactions, the new PayPal Here solution will give smaller merchants the ability to digitally accept debit and credit cards and PayPal payments; log cash and check payments; and send invoices.
The expansion of PayPal Here to a chip and PIN version is “a great example of our vision for PayPal,” says PayPal President David Marcus. It’s “a wonderful customer experience from the moment the PayPal Here app is downloaded to taking the device out of the box and accepting a first payment.”
“We’ve even included a ‘click to call us’ button in the app so our customer service team can be reached in one click just in case help is needed,” Marcus says.
Unlike the original version of PayPal Here, a card reader that slots into the headphone jack of a smartphone, the new, palm-sized chip and PIN device can be paired with existing smartphones via Bluetooth. The device, which will take PayPal, Visa, and MasterCard credit and debit cards, will officially launch this summer in the UK, where PayPal has 18 million active accounts, and eventually be introduced to other European countries. The original is already available in the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan and Hong Kong.
Three early PayPal Here participants in the UK include ice cream company Greedy Goat, minicab and taxi service Green Tomato Cars, and boutique interior design and retail store Revelloyd Interior Design. Other UK businesses who wish to register interest in PayPal Here can do so at http://www.paypal.co.uk/here.