Podium Unveils Card Reader For ‘Frictionless’ Payments

Podium, the communication/payments platform for local businesses, has launched a new point-of-sale (POS) device to give customers new ways to collect and manage payments. Podium Card Readers, the Utah company’s first physical products, are designed to drive repeat business and allow frictionless text and in-store payments, Podium said in a news release on Monday (April 5). The card readers will allow businesses to interact with customers after they leave the store to promote loyalty and engagement.

“Podium’s easy-to-use interface – from card readers to text-to-pay – lets local businesses uplevel their ability to collect payment without overburdening their team,” the release said. “Providing more ways for customers to pay, including text, swipe, card insert and tap-to-pay, also means more payments are actually collected.”

The mobile card readers connect via Bluetooth to the Podium mobile app, while in-store card readers connect via Wi-Fi to computer tablets and mobile devices. They also support chip insert, chip tap, swiping and mobile wallets, and can send automatic text or email receipts with no need for paper.

The card readers meet or exceed PCI compliance standards and help to protect against fraudulent EMV transactions. Businesses have the ability to set up in-person recurring payments, and can see the entire transaction and communication history with each customer in a single thread.

In an interview with PYMNTS last year, Podium VP and General Manager of Payments Chase Petrey said that localized commerce is poised to become “conversational,” meeting customers across mobile devices, the place they most often want to conduct transactions. “There’s an expectation and a growing demand that consumers will be able to message with a local business,” he said, and through digital means, they get what they want and need with little friction inherent in the process. “Having messaging without payments is like having an eCommerce site without a checkout page.”