The secure, chip and PIN credit card reader has been specifically designed for Australia where Chip and PIN has been widely adopted and will soon be mandated across ATMs, cards and payments terminals. Registrations for the new product are open from today with devices scheduled to ship within the first half of the year.

An evolution of the first PayPal Here launched in March 2012, this is a completely new device turning a smartphone into a complete payments solution. Simple to use and easy to set-up, PayPal Here not only allows businesses to accept credit and debit MasterCard and Visa card payments, it also allows them to generate and distribute invoices and has the ability to log cash payments.

There are no monthly subscription fees to use PayPal Here, just a one-off charge of AUD$139 for the card reader and then a small fee per transaction using the card reader[1].

"With our long heritage as a trusted brand in Australia, we have been providing innovative technology solutions for businesses of all sizes for over a decade. With PayPal Here we're proud to offer small businesses a solution that helps them take advantage of every sales opportunity, enabling secure payments online, on mobile and in-store, wherever or whenever they do business," said Andrew Rechtman, Senior Director of SMB, Retail and Strategy at PayPal Australia.

"Today's shopfront is increasingly mobile with consumers embracing this trend and no longer expecting to have to travel to a shop for everyday goods and services. This is why we've developed the new PayPal Here - to give businesses the flexibility to be more mobile, without being hampered by logistical challenges that technology can easily overcome." Rechtman commented.

Paired with a smartphone via Bluetooth, the new Chip and PIN version ensures that both existing and new PayPal Here customers have the best device to help them accept card payments anywhere, anytime, both now and in the future.

PayPal Here Chip and PIN is fully encrypted to help protect card information and is backed by PayPal's world-class security, risk and fraud management systems, ensuring that businesses can take multiple forms of payments safely and securely.

As Australia moves to a cashless society, card payments are increasingly replacing cash for low-value transactions, with data from the Reserve Bank of Australia showing that the average value of card transactions has continued to fall in 2012/13[2].

With three in four Australians now owning a smartphone[3], businesses increasingly have the opportunity to leverage smartphone technology for their full spectrum of needs. The new PayPal Here Chip and PIN device is a complete payments solution for businesses operating on the road, in market stalls and from homes across the country.

"At PayPal our vision is to let people pay anywhere, anytime on any type of connected device," said Mr. Rechtman. "With the new PayPal Here, we're able to provide a mobile payments solution to suit the needs of any Australian small business, by empowering them with more opportunities to connect conveniently with consumers, no matter how they want to pay."

Businesses can register their interest to receive the PayPal Here device at www.paypal.com.au/here. The device will be generally available later in 2014.

[1] 1.95% for credit card payments (via card reader)
2.4% + 30c for invoicing
2.9% + 30c for credit cards keyed in to the app (without use of card reader)

[2] The Reserve Bank, Payments System Board Annual Report - 2013, Trends in Retail Payments

[3] Telstra Smartphone Index, October 2013, conducted online by Nielsen on behalf of Telstra on a representative sample of 2,004 mobile Australians aged over 16 from across Australia in both metropolitan and regional areas.