Dive Brief:

• Square announced that it will reveal new hardware to read microchip-enabled credit cards next year. 
• The new device will cost more than Square's currently free reader, due to the cost of materials.
• The company hopes the new software will help small and medium-size businesses meet a new deadline pushed by credit card companies to adopt E.M.V. technology. 

Dive Insight:

Other companies have already introduced products that can help facilitate the transition to E.M.V. technology, including VeriFone and Ingenico. But with this new technology, Square, unlike its competitors, specifically targets small and medium-size business that may find the cost to switch just too much. This solution would help these retailers, usually the last companies to upgrade their hardware, be prepared for the almost-certain shift to more secure Chip-and-Pin technology.