Following PayPal’s Lead, China’s 99Bill Launches Smartphone Card Reader

A few weeks back there was news from PayPal about its new PayPal Here service that uses a card reader that can be attached to a smartphone via its headphones jack. Now a popular online payment service in China, 99Bill.com, is rolling out its own card reader, in an effort to create a POS device for domestic users. The company says that this is the “first commercial use of such a product” in mainland China.

99Bill says that it already has enlisted a number of partners who will use the card reader, as three insurance companies have agreed to implement it in their respective mobile sales forces. The CEO of 99 Bill, Oliver Kwan, further explained:

We always position ourselves as a comprehensive B2B and B2C payment solution provider for business customers. This Card Reader can significantly increase the number of bank card acceptance devices in China and give our business customers more choices to accept payments. We will continue to introduce more innovative payment solutions that really work, and help our customer grow their business.

The device (pictured right) can be used with Android or iOS devices, and gives users mobile selling capabilities just as PayPal’s solution would. PayPal has reportedly applied for a license to process payments in China, but so far has apparently not been successful.

Meanwhile, domestic rival payment system Alipay is planning to invest $79 million on improving its own payment infrastructure, including a COD device that resembles an ordinary point-of-sales machine. They are to be gradually introduced in various Chinese cities this year.