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Payleven offers first international chip-and-pin mobile POS solution

It’s a big day for mobile POS as more and more companies announce they're entering new international markets — but none of those companies is Square.

German mobile POS provider payleven announced it will be offering its new international solution, the first one that will work across Europe, including support for chip and pin cards. Chip and pin is the standard for credit cards outside the U.S.

With payleven’s new solution, all merchants will now have the opportunity to accept all major credit and debit cards, the company said.

"Since the foundation of payleven, we have focused our efforts on developing a chip and PIN solution," said payleven co-founder and CEO Dr. Alexander Zumdieck. "Visa only allows chip and PIN authorizations for European mobile POS solutions. With chip and PIN, payleven now offers a comprehensive solution for all cards and is therefore leading the European market."

Zumdieck's reference to Visa requirements is important. European mobile payment competitor iZettle has recently run afoul of Visa's requirements and has been prevented from processing Visa transactions. 

Like other mobile POS solutions, payleven’s chip and PIN product works through a small device connected to a smartphone running an app to process payments. The Payleven device uses Bluetooth to connect its combination reader and PIN pad device.

Payleven said it will be offering its chip and PIN solution in international markets including Brazil, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands and Poland beginning October 15.

Payleven is a product clone from Rocket Internet, a startup incubator that copies successful business models for other markets. In the past, it has launched a daily deal Groupon knockoff and a clone of roomshare site airBnB. The company recently raised funds reportedly worth "double digit millions."

For more stories on this topic, visit the POS research center.