Look who crashed Square’s payments-on-the-go party. Amazon just announced its own credit card reader and app combination called Amazon Local Register, which will enable just about anyone to use a smartphone or a tablet to instantly accept credit card payments.
The device only costs $US10, the app is free and the service undercuts Square and PayPal by offering a flat charge of 1.75 per cent per payment until the beginning of 2016, which is a full per cent lower than the 2.75 and 2.7 per cent that Square and PayPal charge respectively. This is only if you sign up early, however, because on January 2, the fee jumps to 2.5 per cent — still cheaper than the competition. [Engadget]