Staples first to retail Intuit Pay MPoS
By Retail Technology | Friday June 14 2013
Intuit Pay mobile payment system debuts with office products retailer as small business card payment acceptance alternative
Staples and Intuit today announced a three-month pilot that will allow the office supplies giant to be the exclusive UK retailer of the payment provider’s latest payment solution, Intuit Pay, which allows small businesses to get paid on-the-go via their mobile device.
Now available from Staples online (staples.co.uk), Intuit Pay offers businesses a simple new way to securely accept credit and debit card payments while on the move so they never miss a sale.
Louise Barber, Staples head of retail marketing, said: “Businesses increasingly need the flexibility to take payments from customers anytime, anywhere. Our partnership with Intuit brings cutting-edge Intuit Pay technology to our UK customers, demonstrating our continued commitment to support small businesses.”
Offering multichannel opportunity
Transactions can be made face-to-face using the chip & PIN card reader, which connects to an Intuit Pay app on a compatible smartphone or iPad using Bluetooth. Card information can also be entered online to pay merchants.
Aiming as an alternative to merchant bank systems, which can take longer to authorise and set up, an Intuit Pay account is free to set up and start taking payments online. The provider said the majority of users are approved within minutes.
Flat-rate transaction charge
The card reader is available from £49 (£58.80 including VAT) with no ongoing contract or monthly fee for the customer. Intuit Pay, which is from the same company behind QuickBooks, charges a 12.75% transaction fee per payment.
A recent survey by Intuit of 1,000 small businesses in the UK found that just 19% of micro-businesses – firms with less than 10 employees – currently accept card payments. Almost half, a total of 47%, said they would accept cards if there was a more affordable way of doing so using their smartphone or tablet.
RetailTechnology.co.uk recently reported on some of the system's early adopters at the Carfty Fox Market.
