Ticket sales startup Eventbrite is giving event planners a new way to sell tickets to their conferences, meetups and other events, with the introduction of a new, branded credit card reader designed to work with its “At The Door” iPad app. With the card reader customers can now pay for tickets at an event with a credit card, but without having to go through the process of typing in the card number, expiration date and other info.
The card reader was launched as yet another way for Eventbrite to enable customers to take payments using its self-serve ticketing platform. Along with the card reader, Eventbrite is launching an updated version of its At The Door iPad app, which takes advantage of the new payment capabilities.
Rather than use a card reader from Square or another third party, Eventbrite built its own. The card reader is bright orange — classic Eventbrite — and unlike others that take advantage of the earphone jack, the branded device plugs into the bottom power dock with a 30-pin adaptor. The startup did that primarily because it saw how frustrating it can be to use some other card readers as they rotate and spin around in the jack.
The card reader will allow events organizers to capture more data about attendees that show up at the door — info that the previously didn’t have access to. It also has encryption built in to securely collect credit-card data from customers.
When an Eventbrite user orders a card reader, it will initially cost $ 10 — but the startup will offset that cost by adding $ 10 to that user’s account. That means that it’s essentially free for anyone who actually uses the thing. For now, Eventbrite is waiving fees associated with sales made through the card reader, but they will still be subject to a 3 percent credit card processing fee. That’s instead of the 2.5 percent plus 99 cent charge per ticket ordered through the website.
Events organizers that want to get an Eventbrite card reader of their own can do so at the Eventbrite Store.
Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.
- Monetizing music in the post-scarcity age
- Web startups: How to guard against security breaches
- Personal tools lead to practical business
