The folks over at the huge pay site PayPal have taken the wraps off of their new mobile payment system. Aiming to take on the popular Square Mobile Payments they are calling this new platform PayPal Here. With a triangle mobile card reader that clicks right into your smartphone, users of Ice Cream Trucks across the nation can be excited.
The device pictured above plugs simply into the 3.5mm headphone jack and from there becomes a full on mobile payment solution. With the new PayPal Here app it makes everything dead simple, and extremely convenient. Obviously merchants can accept cash and such but what is the fun in that when you have this little gadget.
The PayPal Here application is more than just a card reader too. If you happen to forget the dongle you can use the app to scan the customers credit card and they’ll just need to input their zip code for billing, and the CVV code. The app will allow small business owners to work with inventory, send invoices, accept payments, and charge money to clients.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5woIGSOLGk
Then PayPal has assured us both the app and the dongle have a tight encryption and will stay safe should you lose or misplace them. The entire PayPal Here platform will be going live next week and the app and dongle both will be completely free, but there’s a catch. PayPal will send you the goods for free, but will be charging a flat rate of 2.7% for each transaction — just a hair less than the competition who charges 2.75%.
As an added bonus, if you use your PayPal issued credit card you’ll get 1 percent cashback making that 2.7% transaction fee actually be 1.7% instead. Every penny counts especially if you are busy doing lots of business. Currently this is only available for iOS and the iPhone but PayPal urges everyone in the Android world to get one too as they’ll be releasing the Android PayPal Here application very soon.
[via SlashGear]
How does this interface with the phone? Bluetooth? If so I question the security of that. It clearly doesn’t work through the audio jack. I wonder why they didn’t make it plug into the multipin connector on the bottom. My guess is to make it cross platform.
It actually does use the audio jack.
It actually does use the audio jack, for power and data. Google Project HiJack – I think that was the first known example of this kind of technique.
This way, they can support more devices with a single product, as many different makes and models of phones have headset sockets, while their other connectors might be proprietary.
They should have called it Triangle because it’s such a blatant rip off of Square. If you charge someone $100 with PayPal Here you’ll only make 5¢ more than with Square. I can live with that for the less hassles of Square and the more draconian measures of PayPal.
This article really doesnt belong on this website. Its for iphone. “android in the future” is ridiculous. Every iphone app says “android in the future”. I feel as though this article is just marketing the paypal product.
The card reader or “dongle” looks just as flimsy as Square’s. You can still find better rates with our mobile credit card processing. PhoneSwipe via http://www.moblized.com offers a more durable card reader and very competitive rates. It’s worth checking out if you are thinking of implementing this type of credit card processing with your business.
And, just for a laugh, some analysis of “PayPal: The New Way To Pay In-Store”, PayPal Digital Wallet, PayPal Debit MasterCard, PayPal Here, PayPal Local and Watch With eBay …
http://forums.auctionbytes.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=24611
eBay / PayPal / Donahoe: Dead Men Walking
Not! Especially with the reputation of paypal. I also don’t like square but i think the technology is promising. I will just wait for the launch of mPowa and see if it’s also good. See for yourself http://www.mpowa.com
I don’t mind that PayPal has entered the scene. I trust that consumers can make an informed decision if sufficient information about the systems are provided. The more the players in the scene, the more these companies will strive to improve their technology and services because comparisons are bound to be made -all the time.
By the by, I checked mPowa as you suggested. mPowa’s device quite resembles Square but that’s good because we know it’s sleek. The key difference is the considerably lower rate and the chip and pin device option. This is going to be great news for people in the UK and other parts of Europe.
So the app has been out for over 2 months now and yet the dongle is still a no show while square is updating every week and is available for the Android as well as iOS.
Seriously? Oh well, as Ming’s Law says: eBay lies, always has, always will …
Read about it and weep, John Donahoe … In addition to Visa’s V.me, there is now MasterCard’s PayPass digital wallet soon to arrive; another perfectly logical extension to the real banks’ traditional, professional, payment processing systems (and you don’t have to ditch the plastic) … Goodbye clunky PreyPal, I can’t say that it has been nice knowing you … “When Do We Start Calling eBay A [Failed] Payments Company?” http://forums.auctionbytes.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=24590 And, just for a laugh then, some comment on PayPal’s off-eBay products: “The New Way To Pay In-Store” (at Home Depot), PayPal Here, SmartPay, PayPal Digital Wallet, PayPal Debit MasterCard, PayPal Local and Watch With eBay … http://forums.auctionbytes.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=24611 eBay / PayPal / Donahoe: Dead Men Walking