We've been intrigued by the
Square Payment System since it first ditched its Squirrel costume
back in 2009, and now it appears we're on the eve (or eve of the eve, or pretty close anyway) to its release for not only the iPhone, but for the iPad and for Android as well. The software is said to be hitting App Stores and Markets this week, working with a sugar cube-sized card reader that pops into the 3.5mm headphone jack, a device that the company is giving away for free to those who sign up. Using it will not be free, with retailers paying fees starting at 2.75 percent plus a 15 cent surcharge, but that's considerably cheaper than many other options out there (which often require costly hardware to boot). There's another new video after the break, and we can't wait for these things to start showing up at the farmer's market. No more early morning ATM runs!
Update: Apps for the iPhone, iPad, and Android devices are now live in their respective download abodes. None will require that you enter a single digit of your credit card.
[Thanks, Ed]
posted May 11th 2010 9:08AM
That's a big ass sugar cube.
Prostitution has never been so easily... documented for the police.
Seriously, I'd use this to buy a hot dog from a street vendor. That's it. I don't think there is another person alive that I'd trust swiping my credit card on their cell phone with the exception of the street vendor I've bought hot dogs from for the last ten years.
I can't see this ending well.
I
And you know, while I am on the subject. Engadget is based in NY, and yet outside of Nilay I don't see any other people of color contributing to the website. Do they have any black editors?
@Dinochicken
OK dude...now you're just reaching. Let it go.
I plan to try to use this with my plumbing customers and with my business. As it is now I pay a hefty monthly fee for processing fees and to lease the piece of archaic equipment that sits near my desk that I rarely ever use. This is a perfect situation for a small business owner like me as long as I can gain the customer's trust and most likely I am going to be purchasing a mobile printer to try this system out. My card reader should already be on the way, and I thought I had pretty good credit and it's only allowing me to do $700/week as of right now. We charge more than that to put in a water heater and a lot of times those are credit card charges so I'm not sure if this will totally replace my old archaic carbon paper/enter it when I get home setup, but I am excited none the less.
@grindking
I think that is what everyone is starting out at right now.
$100 per transaction/ $700 per week.
Square is working on increasing this limit, and you can also call them about it.
2.75% on every purchase...This will be the most profitable app to ever exist on any platform.
@AndroFan
Are you aware of how much credit card and merchant services companies charge vendors every time you pay for something with your VISA? It is even more outrageous with AMEX. And they charge vendors even more if your card has incentives such as points or miles. According to a recent article in Wired Magazine there are over 250 "flavors" of credit cards, in terms of the percentages they charge. That means that vendors don't even know what percentage they will actually be paying on any given transaction. It could be 1.75%, but then again it could be anywhere up to, say, 3.25%.
Yes, Square is on the high side, but not as high as most of the transaction fees paid to credit card merchant services. Plus, with Square you are not paying the monthly fees. Your credit card company also charges you, as a user, interest on balances. They are, and have been for some time, making a freaking KILLING.
Anybody know if this will work overseas if I sign up for it in the US?
@beersurfing
It is U.S. only at the moment. I'm sure it will grow out, because I think it is going to get huge.
Love this idea, I breed and sell ball pythons and when i go to reptile shows and set up a table this will make it MUCH easier to accept payments from customers that aren't carrying cash. This way they won't just go buy from the next guy just because he can accept credit cards.
About those limits though? :(
Great demo video. I think they are on the right track if they can send out the reader units to people who sign up. I am sure the $ of making them is pretty cheap.
Jeremy Cushing
You'd be better off buying a dedicated wireless credit card terminal.
They run about $500, are much more robust than this, and from what I am reading, cost about half as much per transaction. They will also print out a receipt.
Plus, they're not as likely to get stolen if you leave it sitting around in your booth.
So rumor has it that the strip on our cards will be gone by 2011 (next year) and only chip cards will work.....so does it do chips?
To bad Square runs a background credit check on you, (and who knows what other checks they do with your social security number you have to give them) and then on their website it says they will share this information with Square partners and venders. Not sure about you but I don't want Square to give or sell my credit info to anyone, and for sure not my SSN! Bum deal...
@natemeade I suspect anyone else offering credit card merchant terminals will want to run similar credit history checks and etc if you are an unknown customer.
Well Maybe I will use this for my business.
Lets think about this ...
2.75% is a terrible rate for a card present swiped qualified transaction, usually with other solutions that already exist today you can get close to 1.9%
Square has a current limit of $100.00 max per transaction, & a monthly max of $700.00..(and you can run a business off of that???) because they are a high risk aggregator.. Like paypal(who also charges you an arm and a leg)
@dudeguy10 Let me also state that they are not PCI compliant and as of July 1 they could risk being shut down by Visa because all mobile app related transactions will need to meet payment card industry secure standards. There card reader is also NOT Encrypted so skimmers will love that ... There are way better options out there.. Micro Merchant accounts are also new and will be booming
@dudeguy10
Actually, they are PCI-DSS Level 1 compliant
https://squareup.com/security
I just called a girl from an escort service that accepted my payment via an iPhone. Even hoes are adopting technology.
I think that reader is a big gimmick. You should only need your phone to pay directly, without the need to swipe your credit card. There's a better way!
No way Jose! How do i know the app they are using is real and not a facade to steal my credit card numbers. its bad enough they are placing fake card readers on ATM machines.
What a convenient way for people to steal your card details.
The sooner magnetic stripes are removed from credit & debit cards the better.
It amazes me that the US still allows cards to be swiped thru devices such as this & keyboard readers in retail outlets.
I hope their marketing team discovers that the photo posted above shows the device on the bottom of the phone, but the video, shows it at the top?!?!?!!?!?!
I can see pizza shops that do deliveries using this (give the delivery driver a company-owned mobile phone with the Square software and reader in it and they can both accept credit cards for pizza (great for those who want pizza but dont have the cash handy) and be contactable by the boss back at the shop.
Tradespeople (who almost certainly carry a mobile phone anyway) will also love this (plumbers, electricians, painters, locksmiths, house cleaners etc).
I love the idea.
And their videos. Check out the YouTube page and watch the other video as well.
These guys REALLY know how to make effective advertising (and edit videos).
Palm could take some pointers from these guys.
One thing though: since these apps are on anyone's phone / PC or anything with an audio jack, that means more people will have the program in front of them for hacking... Hacking normal credit cards is difficult because not everyone has a card reader.
But if this is everywhere?... Hmm... Hackers delight.
Ughhh, now we have to keep an eye on our iPhones 4g and try not to leave them on the bar table. I can hear thousands of Chinese coding their new trojans.
You guys need to look into how this Square company is doing more closely. They are really struggling to get their readers sent out, look at their support forums -- full of people who have signed up 2 months ago or longer and still not only haven't received their readers but can't get any updates on the status of their readers. I guess they make sure reviewers like you guys get the readers so you don't see this, but there is a lot of frustration with Square and they are giving only evasive and noncommittal answers.