Payments company
iZettle has unveiled the world's first free-of-charge chip and PIN reader, which should reduce obstacles and costs for small merchants when they set up their businesses.
The iZettle Card Reader Lite will be available to businesses in the UK and across Europe, allowing them to take card payments free of charge. Using a cable, the reader connects to the smartphone or tablet of the vendor, removing all set-up costs for businesses that want to accept card payments in exchange for their services or products.
According to a recent prediction by Visa Europe, within ten years 95 percent of payments in the UK will be made by card -- growth that iZettle very much hopes to benefit from. "Currently, six percent of card readers on the UK market are from us. With the Lite, we're confident that we will boost our user growth, both in the UK and elsewhere," iZettle cofounder and CEO Jacob de Geer told WIRED.co.uk. "British nationals are some of the heaviest card users in Europe. Still, card usage growth in the UK remains tremendous, so we think it's about time to provide UK businesses with the availability to accept card payments without having to make upfront investments," he added.
De Geer explained that while there is obviously still a cost attached to producing the card readers, the declining prices of hardware made it possible for iZettle to subsidise them for users.
They are much needed, as 20 million small businesses in Europe still do not take card payments or have access to the requisite payment tools.
"For iZettle as a company and the European payments industry in general, this is a substantial strategic bet and a venture into untested territory, but it's one that we are very comfortable doing," he said.
The payments company more than doubled its transaction volumes in 2014, meaning that it now runs at an annual transaction rate of
€2 billion (£1.5 billion).
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
