PayPal makes in-store payments push as it launches Zettle POS reader in the US
In a major push for the in-store point-of-sale market, PayPal said Wednesday that it's launching its Zettle POS system in the US two years after acquiring the Swedish fintech company for $2.2 billion.
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PayPal is known primarily as provider of online payment services, as well as for its Venmo and Braintree product portfolio. With Zettle, PayPal will now be able to serve in-store small businesses in the US with a complete point-of-sale system and Zettle's new POS reader.
PayPal Zettle is a digital POS system that also lets small businesses manage sales, inventory, reporting and payments across all channels, in one place. It will enable small businesses in the US accept payments in-store and online via a range of payment options including PayPal, Venmo QR codes, debit and credit cards, and popular digital wallets.
Because it's part of the PayPal services umbrella, Zettle also offers users access to PayPal's suite of payments and commerce tools and the ability to manage all transactions and payments from their PayPal Business account. PayPay Zettle also lets users link accounts with preferred e-commerce, accounting and POS software providers. PayPal said Zettle is currently integrated with a range of partners including BigCommerce, Lightspeed, QuickBooks Online and SalesVu.
PayPal is also offering Zettle at a competitive price compared to other POS providers in the market. The PayPal Zettle card reader is available for $29 for first time purchase, with additional readers available for $79. The PayPal Zettle transaction rate in the US is 2.29% plus $0.09 cents at launch. PayPal QR Code transactions will be 1.9% plus $0.10 cents via PayPal Zettle.
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"Small businesses need access to omnichannel payment and commerce tools to help them effectively compete and meet their customers wherever they are – in-person, online and in-between," said Jim Magats, SVP of Omni Payments for PayPal. "We believe in the power of small businesses, and we will leverage PayPal Zettle to better serve in-person businesses and enable them to go digital seamlessly."
With PayPal's launch of Zettle in the US, PayPal is now positioned to better compete against companies like Square for a spot in physical storefronts. Launched in 2010, Zettle brought PayPal hundreds of thousands of customers in a dozen countries in Europe and Latin America as well as in-store capabilities in 11 international markets. The in-store payments space in the US is a huge market and opens up a significant revenue generating opportunity for PayPal in the long term.