
Story by
Ben Woods
Europe EditorBen is a technology journalist with a specialism in mobile devices and a geeky love of mobile spectrum issues. Ben used to be a professional Ben is a technology journalist with a specialism in mobile devices and a geeky love of mobile spectrum issues. Ben used to be a professional online poker player. You can contact him via Twitter or on Google+.
Taking mobile payments if you’re a truly independent retailer can be a bit of a laborious process, and while the likes of Square, Payleven and iZettle have eased that pain somewhat, there’s still a financial outlay required if you want to take Chip and PIN payments using a card reader.
Today, however, iZettle has unveiled its ‘Lite’ card reader, which is available to businesses in the UK, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Spain, Germany and the Netherlands.
The new Lite reader is free for any small businesses, and connects via a cable to Android and iOS smartphones and tablets. Clearly, while it doesn’t attract any charge, iZettle is still hoping that the companies grow to a sufficient size as to need its more feature-equipped paid-for Card Reader Pro; it’s a win-win for both sides really, as growing sales increase overall profitability for both parties.
Getting new businesses in at the ground level with no upfront cost, therefore makes sense.
➤ iZettle
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