Square announced on Wednesday that it plans to release a new Square Reader for chip cards, an EMV solution aimed at combating card fraud and protecting payment data. The company says it is preparing small businesses for the EMV migration and “industry shift” to chip-enabled credit cards.
EMV (Europay, MasterCard and Visa) is a global standard for chip cards (cards with embedded integrated circuits).
“Continuing its commitment to provide sellers more ways to securely accept payments, Square’s new reader will give sellers the ability to accept chip cards with a low-cost, beautifully designed mobile card reader that offers further protection from card fraud,” the company said.
Square also launched this EMV destination site, where businesses can sign up to get ready for Square’s EMV offering.
“There are more and more ways to pay, and with options like bitcoin and contactless, customers expect to pay however they want; cashiers should never have to say ‘We don’t accept that’,” said Square CEO Jack Dorsey. “Square started by empowering anybody to accept credit cards and enabling customers to pay with their name. Our EMV readers are the next step towards ensuring sellers make every sale.”
Square’s new reader will be available later this year for pre-order. No specific date was given. It will be compatible with iPhone, iPad, and Android devices.
Image via Square