Telecom Italia to Offer payleven Readers to SME Clients (July 1, 2014)
With new laws in Italy requiring all merchants and businesses to accept debit card payments on purchases over €30 (US$41), Telecom Italia is equipping its small-business customers with m-POS readers from payleven. The new requirements—which went into effect yesterday and apply to all merchants with annual turnover of more than €200,000 (US$273,700)—are part of Italy’s efforts to promote electronic payments and crack down on the country’s cash-based underground economy.
Telecom Italia is offering payleven’s smartphone- and tablet-based mobile card reader and companion app at no charge to its customers who have signed up for a monthly 1 GB data package. The initiative could help payleven further grow its presence in Italy, where the company already has partnered with state-owned bank BancoPosta to distribute its card readers to the bank’s SME and micro-merchant customers. With headquarters in London and Berlin, payleven has carved out a sizable stake in the European m-POS market, racking up big-name partners, including Apple Inc. and Wirecard AG.
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