Payleven's Card Reader Now Available in European Apple Stores

Payleven's  EMV-chip mobile card reader has found a spot on Apple Inc.'s retail shelves in Europe and on the company's website.

Payleven's mobile card reader allows for chip-and-PIN based transactions instead of magnetic stripe transactions, used mostly in the U.S., which has been slow to migrate to EMV-chip cards. The major card brands have issued an October 2015 deadline for most merchants to accept EMV-chip cards, which improve security over magnetic-stripe cards.

"We are hugely excited about Apple’s decision to offer our product. Distribution is key to our success and to be included in all Apple’s retail outlets show the mass appeal and potential our product has," Alston Zecha, payleven's co-founder and chief operating officer, said in a May 29 press release.

Unlike many card readers on the market today, Payleven's hardware connects to mobile devices through a wireless Bluetooth signal. Other mobile point of sale devices, such as Square's, plug into handset's headphone jack.

Apple has stocked other mobile card readers for years. VeriFone Holdings Inc. was the first to offer its reader, PayWare Mobile, in Apple retail stores in 2010. And in 2011, Square Inc.'s reader was made available in Apple stores and on its website.

In Europe, Payleven competes with iZettle, mPowa, SumUp and eBay's PayPal.

The European market could get even more crowded as many U.S. mobile payments companies look internationally for expansion. Square has mentioned offering its product in Europe, although its last move was instead to Japan.

Payleven, backed by the Samwer brother's Rocket Internet, offers its product in the U.K., Poland, Italy, Brazil and the Netherlands. The mobile card reader will be sold for 99 pounds or $149.