Accept Credit Card Payments With Square

Square, a mobile credit card terminal app, is out of Beta and officially in business. They covered all their bases, with apps for iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch and now Android (2.1 phones only). This free app works with any US-issued credit, debit, pre-paid, or gift card from Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover. Simply process credit cards using their free card reader (which is shipped to you when you activate the app) that plugs into the headphone jack.

A few key features that make Square unique are:

• Receipts are sent instantly to the customer’s email or mobile phone. Receipts are also geotagged.
• Frequent customers can create a Square account, with photo verification. Square merchants can use this for fraud prevention.
• The iPad version has “shelves” which allow you to organize your products, making item tallying easier.
• Square merchants will be informed if they are serving repeat customers, which the merchant can use to reward customers.
• Purchase data is available in a standard downloadable format.
• No monthly fees, hidden costs or contracts.  

Square's receipt example.

The per-transaction fees are transparent and competitive (2.75% + 15¢ for swiped transactions and 3.5% + 15¢ for keyed-in transactions). While I did find credit card processors that are lower than Square’s offering, they required monthly fees, gateway fees, equipment rentals and at least a reasonable amount of monthly transactions to qualify.

Example: if you accept cards via PayPal Mobile, the standard fee is 2.9 + 30¢ you’ll need to do at least $3000 a month to qualify for a 2.5% fee, based on the previous month’s sales. Square’s commitment is to give you the same fee, no matter how many transactions you make.

This app is ideal for merchants (or anyone) just starting a business, freelancers,  swap meets, yard sales, tickets, or other “micro-sales” purchases. The possibilities are pretty much endless.

If you would like to take Square on as your credit card processor, sign up is simple. Just download the app to your smartphone of choice. Again, it’s free to sign up.

About the Author
(aka Nukirk Digi.tal) is a freelance graphic and web designer as well as a New Media Consultant. He’s also a songwriter, recording artist and studies how to use Social Media to promote musicians as well as himself. He blogs about his love for music, social media and provides commentary when the two collides on his blog “Thought Remixer“.
See all posts by V. Matthew King-Yarde.