Entrepreneurs now have another choice to make easy credit card payments, and it is undercutting the competition.
Amazon has decided to get into the mobile payment business, launching Amazon Local Register. This combination of credit card reading hardware and commerce software will allow people to place charges on credit cards via mobile devices, not unlike Square's Reader or the PayPal Here card reader.
The difference is, Amazon is charging much less for the service, putting the competition on notice. While Square and PayPal charge 2.75 and 2.7 percent of a credit card purchase, respectively, Local Register will have a starting rate of only 1.75 percent. That introductory rate will be in place until January 2016, when it will increase to a still competitive 2.5 percent per purchase.
Purchases that entrepreneurs and businesses make via the Local Register will be deposited to a bank account the next business day.
Amazon is charging $10 for the reader hardware, but then offsetting it with $10 credit on the credit card transactions. The reader is available for both iOS devices and Android devices, including Amazon's own Kindle Fire tablets.
The company is also selling a variety of bundles that include various permutations which may include the Local Register reader, one of the Kindle Fire tablets, a cash drawer or a receipt printer.
