American Express and German mPOS (mobile point-of-sale) vendor Payleven have announced a new European distribution deal that will see small businesses given a free Chip and PIN card reader and business credit card (American Express Business Gold Card) as part of a SME business package. The deal between mPOS provider and card issuing company is believed to be an industry first.
Commenting on the announcement, Konstantin Wolff, managing director and co-founder of Payleven, said,
“With the partnership, entrepreneurs are perfectly equipped for their everyday business. The business bundle contains technology to securely accept card payments, as well as a flexible credit card that is specifically tailored to their needs.”
With hardware, it generally becomes a race to the bottom in terms of price but by packaging a mPOS device with other value added services like a new business credit card, it shifts the discussion away from price and towards value. It would not be surprising to see other mPOS manufactures to look for strategic deals with payment card issuers and or processors in Europe and around the world.
Overview by Tristan Hugo-Webb, Associate Director, Global Payments Advisory Service at Mercator Advisory Group
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