The Zettle 2 is the Square Reader’s biggest competitor with with each reacting to each other’s price reductions and tech improvements. Since Paypal bought out iZettle in 2018 (breaking competition rules as a result) they have retired their Paypal Here card reader and focused on the recently rebranded Zettle range of card readers (previously iZettle).
Zettle’s mobile card reader supports contactless and Chip & PIN payments at same fixed rate of 1.75% even for foreign and premium cards. Visa, V Pay, Mastercard, Maestro, American Express, JCB, Diners Club, UnionPay, Discover, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay are all accepted.
A key selling point with Zettle’s reader is speed. It quickly boots up within 2 seconds, processes payments in as little as 5 seconds and you get roughly 8 hours of active use from a single charge. This makes Zettle 25% faster than most mobile card readers currently on the market when it comes to accepting payments and your money will be deposited in your bank within 1-2 business days – also faster than most of the competition.
Read our comprehensive Zettle review here.
Verdict: Zettle’s card reader offers some of the fastest payment processing in the industry right now, along with extensive support for credit cards and mobile payment platforms. The company also offers a wider range of online payment solutions, making Zettle a good option for SMEs that sell to customers face-to-face and over the internet.