European mPOS contender SumUp has launched its own proprietary chip and PIN reader after deciding that the white label offerings on the market were not up to scratch.
Most of the companies in the crowded mPOS market do not develop their own hardware. PayPal, iZettle, Payleven and Worldpay all use a device (which was recently hacked by researchers and used to play Flappy Birds) from Miura Systems.
SumUp has taken a different approach and, in a European first, built its own chip and PIN reader after deciding that the versions on the market do not meet its "strict requirements".
After an 18-month development period, the device, called PIN+, is going on sale in Poland and Switzerland today for £79. In Switzerland, a deal has been struck with UBS, which will offer PIN+ to its merchant customers. The technology will arrive in the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain over the next few weeks.
By building PIN+ in-house, SumUp says it saves money which will be passed on to merchants through low transaction rates.
Daniel Klein, CEO, SumUp, says: "No vendor could have supplied us with a Chip & PIN device to meet our strict criteria for reliability, design and security, along with a user experience that is so intuitive that even merchants who have never accepted card payments before can start selling immediately without having to read a manual."
Job losses
Separately, in a move that will see around 30 jobs lost, SumUp has confirmed that it is shutting its Dublin office. With backing from the Irish government through IDA Ireland the company announced the customer, technical support and development centre in September 2012, promising to employ 40 people.
However, as reported by the Irish Times, several weeks ago SumUp began writing to Dublin-based tech firms inviting them to a jobs fair as it sought to find work for employees about to be laid off.
Explaining the move, Klein now says: "At this stage in SumUp's journey it does not make sense for us to have three major development offices in Europe. Therefore we have made the proposal to close the Dublin office.
"As a startup it is important that we continuously recalibrate our assumptions so we are as lean and competitive as possible. By making these considered decisions in our own time, we are placing SumUp in an ideal position for the next stage of its growth."