Online payment giant PayPal announced today its new mobile payment system, PayPal Here. The small credit card reader for iPhones takes direct aim at Square, which has long offered a similar device. PayPal says the PayPal Here device is specifically intended for merchants and vendors that do not otherwise have access to a credit card reader, like street vendors, or food truck operators.
The PayPal Here dongle plugs into the iPhone via the headphone jack on the top of the device. A small wing folds down to stabilize the PayPal Here reader when users swipe their card. Using the accompanying PayPal Here app, vendors can enter in the price, then had the iPhone over to the customer, who can add in a tip (when applicable), sign their name, and enter the mobile number where they would like the receipt for the purchase sent.
PayPal has also designed the PayPal Here app to accept credit card payments without the plug-in dongle. This is done using the “Scan Card” feature, which uses the iPhone camera to automatically read the card number. Using this method, vendors will still have to type in the CCV number on the back of the card, as well as the customer’s Zip code, adding another layer of security on top of the encryption built into both the app and the dongle. Merchants can also use the app to keep track of all their cash transactions.
PayPal asserts that PayPal Here is a better option over products like Square because PayPay is “a trusted brand in the online payments industry with more than 100 million customers around the globe and years of proven payment innovation,” according to David Marcus, PayPal’s VP of mobile. Merchants will also have to pay a flat fee of 2.7 percent for each credit card or PayPal payment, which is just slightly lower than the 2.75 percent Square charges for credit card transactions.
PayPal Here is now available for “select merchants” in the United States, Canada, Australia, and Hong Kong. It will be available in other countries starting next month. Both the app and the card reader are free for approved merchants, who can apply for one at: PayPal.com/Here.
Watch a video about how PayPal Here works below:
Square (in which Visa bought an interest in 2011) has absolutely nothing to worry about, sans its effectively mandated use on the eBay marketplace, the clunky PreyPal could not hit the side of an old timber barn, let alone a modern B&M one.
“Anuj [Nayer], who is PayPal’s Global Director of Communications, said payments processed through PayPal Here would be protected the same as any other PayPal payment method – which explains why the Terms of Sale for Here includes a mention of rolling reserves. Yes, merchants who use the new card reader will be subject to the regular PayPal reserves and holds (rare occurrences for sellers in most categories, said Anuj), and PayPal is extending buyer protection to shoppers who transact with PayPal Here merchants.”
http://blog.ecommercebytes.com/cgi-bin/blog/blog.pl?/comments/2012/3/1331862035.html/1/0#1331873673
Well, many merchants already know what PayPal “protection” is like; many merchants already know what PayPal “rolling reserves” and “holds” are about; and many merchants already know what PayPal “buyer protection” is about—it has a hard wired bias towards the buyer: effectively there is no transaction mediation process as any reasonable person would understand it. And PayPal’s Nayer gives a different meaning to the word “rare” to what the rest of us understand it to mean … And for all this, PreyPal’s fee is only 0.05% cheaper than Square’s? Are they serious?
Am I missing something here or is this initial launch information not sufficient to cause this product to be literally “dead on arrival”? To me it sounds like another desperate Donahoe foray with Alice down the rabbit hole.
Next time you drop into Home Depot, ask the check-out chick if anyone has yet used (the wholly eBay-funded roll out of) PreyPal to make a point-of-sale purchase. PreyPal at B&M Point-of-Sale is little more than an eBay Dept of Spin-created illusion and is undoubtedly a total waste of eBay shareholders’ funds. PayPal Here will likewise be another eBay lead balloon …
And, just for a laugh, a comment on “The New Way To Pay In-Store” via eBay’s clunky faux “bank” PreyPal, and some other matters.
http://forums.auctionbytes.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=24611
eBay / PayPal / Donahoe: Dead Men Walking
Android?