Dutch headquartered Adyen has become the latest company to launch a mobile chip-and-pin reader that allows merchants to process card payments using smartphones or tablets.
The device, called Shuttle, is EMV compliant and accepts most credit and debit cards used in Europe. It’s a stand alone MPOS that connects to iOS and Android smartphones or tablets via a Bluetooth connection. Customers have to enter their PIN code into the device and the transaction can be verified online or offline. The receipt can then be sent via email to the card holder.
Questioned during the London launch-event over what differentiates Shuttle from similar devices, Adyen chief commercial officer Roelant Prins said that the new device targets big merchants and is already available on the market. "We are not just announcing it, it has already gone live," he said.
Adyen added the e-company is transferring the knowledge acquired through its e-payment experience to the point-of-sales technology and has and end to end control of the payment chain.
This allows the company to connect different payments options through a single back office service.
It also enables Adyen to provide merchants with analytics data – such as the number of times the client’s card has been used, or at what time -. Consultants attending the London event stressed how this is possibly the most appealing feature of MPOS devices.
Frans Jonker, chief executive of Adyen’s client Ticketscript spoke at the London launch to illustrate the reasons behind his decision to use Shuttle: "Ticketscript is launching a box-office service using Adyen’s MPOS solution to sell on the spot tickets that have not been sold online. For this reason we have in mind the festival season".
Shuttle costs EUR99 (USD129), combined with a EUR10 monthly fee. Transactions fees will amount to 1.4% per transaction via credit card and EUR0.16 per transaction via debit card.