PayPal is bringing its Here mobile payments service to the U.K., but its familiarly shaped triangle card reader will not be making the journey over the Atlantic. Instead PayPal is launching a new device that better fits the point-of-sale policies of Europe: a card reader with a numeric keypad for entering a key code.
Rather than fit into the headphone jack of a smartphone, the new reader pairs to the an iPhone or Android device via Bluetooth. And instead of swiping the card’s magnetic strip, the card is inserted into the reader so it can access the smart-chip embedded within typical European debit and credit cards, while the keypad is used for entering the customer’s PIN.
PayPal plans to showcase the new reader and service at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next week, but it U.K. merchants will have to wait a bit before they can get their hands on Here. According to PayPal’s blog, the company will roll out the service to select U.K. businesses in the coming months, after which it will launch nationwide. Following the U.K. launch, PayPal will roll out Here in other European countries, though it didn’t identify any by name.
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