PayPal's new chip card reader accepts Apple and Android Pay

PayPal today unveiled its “Here Chip Card Reader” in the U.S. that promises its users reduced liability for fraudulent chip card transactions.

The inclination by American consumers for EMVs (for Europay, MasterCard and Visa but better known as chip cards) to prevent fraudulent payment transactions is compelling businesses to upgrade their hardware to support these new chip-and-PIN cards, TechCrunch reports. Most debit and credit cards in the United States will be reissued with EMV chips this October. The EMV payment option offers increased data security as it embeds a microprocessor chip into debit and credit cards to prevent fraud during in-person transactions.

PayPal’s website points out the difference between traditional cards and smart cards. The former holds static information that can’t be changed once issued by the manufacturer. On the other hand, smart cards generate varying data for each transaction and are intended to prevent transaction data from being reused illegally.

Starting October 1, 2015, the liability for fraudulent chip card transactions shifts to businesses. With the EMV liability shift, businesses will be liable for point-of-sale fraud when customers use their chip cards to complete purchases.

PayPal VP and GM Brad Brodigan pointed out consumers expect to pay anytime, anywhere and in any way they want. The PayPal chip card reader supports not only EMV, but also magnetic strip cards (MST) and near field communication (NFC) systems that Apple Pay, Android Pay, and Samsung Pay utilize.

PayPal’s chip card readers have been available in the United Kingdom and Australia for two years. Now that the U.S. has finally followed suit, PayPal will retail its chip card reader on September 30 for $49. The discounted price includes a Rebate Offer, which rewards a $100 credit to customers in the U.S. that process at least $3,000 within the first three months of activating the new hardware.

Accept contactless payments with the PayPal Here Card Reader – now just £59.95 until 31 October (Credit: YouTube/PayPal UK)

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