SumUp Overview
SumUp is the leading Mobile Point Of Sale (mPOS) company in Europe. Which may be surprising for UK users as they are largely unheard of here but with the mPOS market growing rapidly we are going to be hearing a lot more from them.
They currently have a staff of just over 100 people working in more than 20 countries who provide their services to merchants, and they are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
On the face of it Sumup offers the same product and service as iZettle or Payleven and at a cheaper rate too but what caught my eye as I browsed their website for this review was their use of technology as a customer facing tool which always bodes well for customer service.
The Product
So what do you get for your money?
The technology works the same as the other mPOS solutions we've covered here.
A smartphone APP connects via Bluetooth to a wireless chip and pin reader, and the transaction is sent over a wireless or 3G/4G connection. It is the mobile App that does all of the cute processing, and once the transaction is complete, the customer automatically receives an email receipt or a text message receipt.
If you need hard copy receipt printing, then you are in luck. Several compatible printers are available which will connect wirelessly to your smartphone and as demand increases, so the price will come down and make them more affordable.
The ZJ 5802LD is a Bluetooth 58mm Thermal receipt printer which will do the job for you at a cheap cost – around £35 or something more rugged like the Bixolon SPP-R200II will set you back around £180.
Product Cost
The hardware chip and pin reader costs £59 which is the same as other products in this category, but the transaction cost is lower – 1.69% which is a considerable saving over competitors in this market.
There are no monthly costs, so you just pay for every transaction you use the card reader for.
Support
A comprehensive online support portal should answer any questions you may have regarding your product. Registered users get access to 9-5 telephone support hotline.
SumUp Launches Air Register and Contactless Card Reader
SumUp Air Register includes:
• New NFC card reader with glass surface and capacitive key pad to accept chip, magnetic stripe cards and contactless payments, including. Apple Pay and Android Pay.
• iPad mini to use with any POS register software integrated with the SumUp payments platform (or the SumUp app).
• Standard size thermal receipt printer.
• A Wooden oak case made from sustainable forestry.
The Air Register has been designed and built by SumUp and works smoothly with SumUp’s existing EMV card terminals, payment processing platform and risk and anti-fraud system. By integrating with the SumUp open platform, POS software providers can offer a smooth payment acceptance experience in their native or mobile browser-based apps, without having to go through the trouble of certifying with card schemes or acquirers and maintaining PCI compliance. With a single integration that takes just a few hours, software providers can receive payments in 15 countries on three continents.
Daniel Klein, CEO of SumUp:
“Over the last year, we have experienced huge demand from tablet-based cash register providers to be able to connect their apps with our open payments platform. At the same time we have identified a lack of a beautiful, all-in-one POS hardware piece. With the launch of Air Register we are now filling this gap and are enabling our partners to offer their apps in a stunning package.
Summary
As the move to mobile payments becomes more generally accepted as a method of doing business on the go Sumup is in an excellent business position.
SumUp’s proprietary, end-to-end payments platform is the first fully-certified EMV mPOS system in the world to cover the entire payment process: card terminals, Android and iOS mobile apps, a payment processing platform and risk and anti-fraud solutions. The company is also the only mPOS provider to design and develop its EMV card terminals.
If you process payments up to around 10k per annum, then this is a solution that will allow you to capture those additional sales at a cheap cost.
SumUp and Payleven have now both merged.
