EMEA Daily: Adyen Launches POS Terminals; End of UK Paper Banknotes

Today in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Adyen has launched its own line of POS terminals and the U.K. prepares to phase out paper bills at the end of the month.

Adyen Launches 2 POS Terminals

The Amsterdam-based global payments company Adyen Friday (Sept. 23) launched two point-of-sale (POS) terminals — the NYC1 and AMS1.

The new devices are both “mobile, lightweight, affordable, and have a long-lasting battery to simplify accepting in-person payments for enterprise and platform businesses,” Adyen stated on its website.

Today’s launch marks Adyen’s first foray into hardware design. The company has previously only offered PoS terminals manufactured by Veriofone and Castles Technology.

French Law Aims to Give Small Bookshops an Edge Against Amazon

France will impose a minimum 3-euro (about $3) delivery fee for online book sales of less than 35 euros (about $34) in a bid to give small bookstores competing against eCommerce goliaths a fighting chance.

In a statement issued Friday, French cultural and finance ministers said the move is aimed at “restoring equity between certain major eCommerce platforms,” which charge almost free shipping no matter how many books a customer orders “and a whole network of booksellers who cannot match these rates for small orders.”

The End of Paper Banknotes in the UK

The 30th of September marks the end of an era for British money as the Bank of England (BoE) will be withdrawing the legal tender status of paper £20 and £50 banknotes at the end of the month. After this date businesses will no longer be accepting these banknotes as payment.

The BoE started withdrawing the old bills from circulation when the newer polymer £10 and £20 notes were first issued in 2020 and 2021 respectively. Paper money issued by commercial banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland is also subject to the same deadline.

Since paper £5 and £10 notes ceased to be legal tender in 2017, the new status means that the £100 note issued by the Bank of Scotland will be the last paper note in circulation in the U.K.

The polymer version of the £100 was issued in May this year.

Although the majority of paper £20 and £50 banknotes in circulation have already been replaced, the BoE has stated that there are over £5 billion worth of paper £20 bills and nearly £6 billion worth of paper £50 bills still in circulation. That’s more than 250 million individual £20 bills and more than 110 million paper £50 bills.

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