PayPal Rumored to Launch a Credit Card Reader Similar to Competitor Square On Thursday
As reported by GigaOM, PayPal is said to unveil a credit card-reading dongle at a San Francisco event this Thursday marketed at the small business niche. PayPal’s credit card reader would be a direct competitor to Jack Dorsey’s Square. Additionally, GigaOM points out that PayPal’s device may be triangular in shape, which if true would turn out to be an obvious competitive dig at its competitor Square.
Systems like Square have been gaining momentum in the industry, so for PayPal the transition into a physical card-reading system is an expected move. These devices are marketed as the next generation payment platform for small businesses who have an iPhone, iPad, or Android device on hand.
We are assuming PayPal would take a percentage of the transaction before giving the remainder to the seller’s account, in the same fashion it performs today. The major difference being that the buyer would now have the ability to pay for the transaction with a credit card instead of a PayPal account. While this doesn’t seem ideal for PayPal, a card reader accessory simply allows the company a way to keep the transaction within their walls.
