Shopify Debuts New Chip and Swipe Card Reader, Will Be Free for Businesses Without POS Systems

[MacRumors]

At Shopify's Unite developer conference in San Francisco today, the software-focused e-commerce company has debuted a new hardware product, which it simply calls the "Chip & Swipe Credit Card Reader" (via TechCrunch). Similar to other card readers, Shopify's product allows merchants who run small businesses to accept a wide variety of credit cards as payment options, although it lacks Square Reader's NFC support for services like Apple Pay.

The Shopify Chip & Swipe Reader is a modular solution that allows the reader to be detached from its base so merchants can handle card swipes from any angle. To dock, the reader connects to the base via micro USB, but Shopify said that the reader itself could handle an entire week's worth of transactions before needing to be docked and charged. Different mounting accessories beyond the simple dock sold at launch are said to be coming in the future.

"What people forget is that it's not just the merchant that's touching the hardware, like a cash register," Shopify VP of Product Satish Kanwar said. "When it comes to a card reader, it's the shopper that's interacting with the device and inputting their card as well. What we realized is that it's really hard to get a good balance of good quality, versatility and something that provides that delightful experience in something that's also affordable."

Shopify's reader will be free to all Shopify merchants without a current Shopify point-of-sale solution (the company also has a sales terminal with full tap, swipe, and chip payment compatibility that does support Apple Pay). For everyone else, the new reader will cost $29, and will process payments at 2.4 percent per transaction. The reader will connect to both iOS and Android devices via Bluetooth.

Merchants interested can pre-order the device today, and the launch window is currently predicted as sometime in June. There's also a 14 day free trial for those who sign up for pre-orders.

Article Link: Shopify Debuts New Chip and Swipe Card Reader, Will Be Free for Businesses Without POS Systems

 

[travisjaymoore]

No NFC? That's a joke.
Seems closed-minded to include the chip technology which is slow and painful and not NFC, which is becoming more widely adopted every day.

 

[Robert.Walter]

No NFC? DOA. Even free won't make it viable. It's manufacturer better have an exchange for free NFC version up within a few months or this thing will wither and die.

 

[citi]

No NFC? That's a joke.
Seems closed-minded to include the chip technology which is slow and painful and not NFC, which is becoming more widely adopted every day.

It will be just fine. Not everyone needs to be that bleeding edge. I'm pretty sure you still shop at places that don't accept NFC. This is for people without a POS system. Which means people that don't use credit card processing all that much. I'm going to take a serious look at it. In all honesty, if the difference in 29$ to some ridiculous price just because it does NFC, I'd pass on NFC. It's just not that important right now.

 

[dontwalkhand]

No NFC? That's a joke.
Seems closed-minded to include the chip technology which is slow and painful and not NFC, which is becoming more widely adopted every day.

Chip technology is what's required by the card companies to avoid fraud. NFC is still completely optional. Not saying I agree with their decision, but then again, this reader is free. If you want NFC you can get the $100 reader.

 

[workdaypheasant]

Just wanted to say: seeing this press release masquerading as journalism, about a company that defends working with Breitbart, and has nothing to do with Apple, was the precise moment I removed macrumors.com from my RSS feed.

 

[tmiw]

No NFC? That's a joke.
Seems closed-minded to include the chip technology which is slow and painful and not NFC, which is becoming more widely adopted every day.

More adopted by stores, maybe.

More adopted by customers? Pretty questionable at the moment. Unlike in a lot of other countries, adding NFC requires significant development work on the part of the retailer/POS vendor. Why go through the hassle if barely anyone will use it?

 

[Sharkoneau]

The Shopify Chip & Swipe Reader is a modular solution that allows the reader to be detached from its base so merchants can handle card swipes from any angle.

One might say that in 2017, merchants shouldn't really be handling our cards at all. But I digress.

 

[tmiw]

One might say that in 2017, merchants shouldn't really be handling our cards at all. But I digress.

Merchants technically should be handling them considering that signatures are still required for card purchases. Of course, no one bothers to compare the slip with the back of the card, but still.

 

[dontwalkhand]

Merchants technically should be handling them considering that signatures are still required for card purchases. Of course, no one bothers to compare the slip with the back of the card, but still.

It's Shopify, so on screen signatures, which nobody checks even more!

 

[Chrjy]

Will Be Free for Businesses Without POS Systems
https://www.macrumors.com/2017/04/20/shopify-new-chip-swipe-card-reader/
Will be free for Businesses without 'Piece of ****' Systems' - does that mean they have to have really great systems to make it free?!

Sorry couldn't help myself....

 

[dontwalkhand]

Will Be Free for Businesses Without POS Systems
Will be free for Businesses without 'Piece of ****' Systems' - does that mean they have to have really great systems to make it free?!

Sorry couldn't help myself....

Point of Sale.

 

[liberte1776]

No NFC? That's a joke.
Seems closed-minded to include the chip technology which is slow and painful and not NFC, which is becoming more widely adopted every day.

Agreed.

 

[weave]

Not free for most shops after all.

If you've previously gotten a free swipe reader from them (that swipe thing that plugs into the audio jack), it won't let you get this for free as well.

I just tried on a store I manage.

 

[cedcommerce]

Yes , Shopify is introducing its own payments.