Amazon to launch credit card reader to compete with Square, leaked papers suggest

By Trevor Mogg July 28, 2014

There’ve been a number of news stories in recent months suggesting Amazon is on the cusp of launching its own mobile credit card reader to take on the likes of Square and PayPal Here, with the latest of these reports, which landed Sunday, adding further weight to the idea that such a device is in the works.

Additional evidence that the e-commerce giant is about to announce new hardware came via internal documents from Staples, 9to5Mac reported.

The inventory papers list, among other things, an “Amazon card reader”, and also advises stores to hold back promotional material, such as signage, until August 12. The reader is set to sell for $9.99, according to the documents.

The suggestion is that if Amazon does indeed launch a card reader in the coming weeks, it’ll likely connect with its Wallet app, which it introduced just a few days ago.

It’s not the first time we’ve heard that Amazon is working on its mobile card reader, with several reports over the last year pointing to the idea. Before Sunday, the most recent of these came from Bloomberg last month It said that according to its sources inside Lab126 – an Amazon subsidiary that focuses on hardware development – the company is working on “a credit-card reading device similar to Square.”

The original Square reader launched in 2010. The brainchild of Twitter co-creator Jack Dorsey, the system is designed to offer a quick and simple method for accepting card payments using a small device – the reader – attached to a smartphone or tablet, making it an ideal tool for small businesses and retailers.

We’ve reached out to Amazon asking for confirmation that it’s prepping a reader for imminent release, and will update when we hear back.

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Contributing Editor

Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…

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