Payment technology company Cayan has introduced their new Genius Handheld, a first-of-its-kind, semi-integrated, EMV-enabled mobile payment device in the U.S., according to a press release.

Cayan said Genius Handheld enables sales associates to get out from behind the counter and onto the shop floor to help customers and close sales. 

"Customer expectations of what a good retail experience is are changing and many retailers are finding they need to evolve how they relate to customers in store," Cayan CEO Henry Helgeson said in a statement. "Genius Handheld gives retailers an easy way to have a more personal and consultative interaction between the sales associate and the customer."

Merchants can use the Genius Handheld in tandem with the Genius countertop product or as a stand-alone in-aisle payment product, according to the announcement.

Once connected to the store's wireless network, associates can take payments anywhere in the store. Genius Handheld offers the same security, mobile payment options and checkout functionality (line-item display, digital signature capture, etc.) as Cayan's flagship cloud-based, integrated Genius Platform. For retailers already using Cayan's Genius Platform, there's no additional work to enable Genius Handheld as it leverages the same Genius API.