Revolut moving into in-person payment solutions

Financial app Revolut has launched its first hardware product, a lightweight card reader for business customers, as it moves into in-person payment solutions and continues to diversify its offering for business customers.

Launching in the UK and Ireland, the Revolut Reader has been designed to “allow merchants of all kinds to accept payments anywhere, whether their business is in-person or on-the-go". It accepts instant and secure transactions made with debit and credit cards, as well as contactless payment methods.

According to Revolut, the device is powered to run transactions all day and has smart features “to keep up with the demands of a growing business”. It also promises payment speeds under 5 seconds, competitive transaction fees of 0.8 percent plus 2 pence and a one-off cost or customised pricing for businesses dealing with high volumes. It will also process payments faster than the industry standard of two to three business days.

Maria Garcia Marti, product owner acquiring at Revolut, said in a statement: "When designing new products, our team always has customer needs in mind: a fast and easy to use solution that will not slow business down, easy access to funds, and receiving payments faster than the industry standard of 2-3 business days.

"Plus, the security and long battery-life of a small pocket-sized device, capable of streamlining operations without the need to manage multiple accounts and systems. This is exactly what Revolut Reader is offering our business customers: really tap into business growth."

The Revolut Reader is the first product aimed at diversifying its offering for business customers, with the financial company adding that it will be introducing a point-of-sale (POS) solution that will “bring more flexibility” for larger merchants that want to integrate the card reader with existing POS systems.

The financial app launched in 2015 in the UK offering money transfers and exchanges, and today, it has more than 18 million retail customers globally and over 500,000 corporate clients.