Revolut launches card reader for retailers

By

Nigel TAYLOR

Published
Jul 6, 2022

London-based fintech business Revolut wants to speed up high street customer transactions by launching its first card reader.

Revolut Reader is a pocket-sized device that will charge retailers transaction fees of 0.8%, plus 2p, and claims to process payments “faster than the industry standard of two to three business days”, according to Revolut.

The company cited industry figures that say the mobile card reader market is set to grow by £1.7 billion between 2020 and 2024 as retailers stop accepting cash payments in favour of cashless alternatives. Just 17% of payments were made using cash in 2020, according to figures from UK Finance.

The launch comes as the business wants to move into Europe’s buy-now-pay-later market with its ‘Pay Later’ service. Revolut claims 18 million customers and processes 150 million transactions per month. 

The company was valued at $33 billion after a funding round in July 2021. However, it has yet to have been granted a banking license after having made an application at the beginning of 2021.