PayPal’s new mobile card reader targets Square, world domination

PayPal is going after mobile payment service Square in big way. The ecommerce giant announced that it is looking to go global with its new payment app and card reader.

They new product, called PayPal Here, (not quite as catchy as Square right?) reportedly allows merchants to accept payments by swiping cards in the card reader, scanning cards and checks using their phone cameras, or manually entering card information into the app.

PayPal’s vice president of mobile, David Marcus claims the decision to launch the new product was down to demand from small business owners:

We’ve heard small businesses loud and clear. They don’t want to miss sales opportunities because they can’t accept the payment type that their customers want to use. They want quick access to their money, a reliable card reader, and one transparent, low fee to process these payments. I’m thrilled to launch PayPal Here because we’ve been able to bring all of these key features together into a product that’s so simple to us.

Although PayPal here’s initial rollout is in United States, Canada, Australia and Hong Kong although the company says it will be rolling out in more countries soon.

The card reader attachment is triangular in shape (one less side than a square — edgy!) and fits into the phone’s headphone jack.

Although the app is currently only available for iPhone users at the moment, PayPal claims an Android version will be coming soon.

The ecommerce giant claims that PayPal Here offers users a number of features including:

• The most payment types: swipe credit and debit cards, manually key in or scan card information, scan and process checks (U.S. only), invoice directly from the app, and accept PayPal
• Immediate card acceptance: download the PayPal Here merchant app, sign up and start accepting payments immediately
• One simple flat fee: the mobile app and card reader is free for both merchants and consumers, with no account setup or monthly fees, competitively priced at 2.7%
• Be paid quickly: merchants receive funds directly into their PayPal account whether the sale is online, mobile or via PayPal Here
• PayPal debit card for quick access to cash with 1 percent cash back on eligible purchases, fees effectively come down to 1.7%
• Security: PayPal Here uses end-to-end encryption to help protect card information as it swipes, backed by PayPal’s world-class security, risk and fraud management systems
• 24×7 customer support: live phone and online customer support – more than 6,000 customer service agents across 17 centers around the globe
• Backed by PayPal: One of the world’s most trusted ways to pay and get paid with more than 100 million active accounts worldwide in 190 markets and supports payments in 25 currencies