Square is the nifty little mobile payment device that can be attached to a smartphone or a tablet and used to accept payments from a credit or debit card. The service is offered alongside two apps – Android and iOS varieties – both of which have been updated with, among other things, the ability to […]
Many shops that use Square readers still have to accept checks and gift cards, but they haven’t had an easy time reconciling those physical payments with the digital variety. Thankfully, updated versions of Square for Android and iOS should bring harmony by recording and tracking payments in virtually any format. The new release is particularly friendly to iPads serving as registers, giving them both cash management tools and support for printing receipts over Bluetooth. Storeowners whose sales still involve lots of paper or plastic will want to grab the latest Square apps through the source links.
Filed under: Cellphones, Peripherals, Tablets, Mobile
Via: The Next Web
Source: App Store, Google Play
We’ve come to know Square for its efforts in making it easier for small — and not so small — businesses to get paid in real life with card readers, iPad registers and apps, but its latest project is trying to help them sell online as well. Square Market has just opened up, and features storefronts from a number of retailers selling good and services online. Of course, in 2013 launching a website isn’t that difficult and others like Etsy and eBay have been in this segment for a long time, so what does Square have to offer? According to the company, anyone can open up a store for free complete with photos and a business profile. There’s no charge for item listings either, however a 2.75 percent fee is collected on each sale. It’s too early to tell if the simple approach will cut into its competitor’s market share, but for merchants already using its physical products (or thinking about it) it may provide an easy portal to customers worldwide as well as local.
Filed under: Internet
Source: Square Market
Having already convinced small businesses and folks to use their phone to buy and sell goods, today Square is announcing Square Market, an online marketplace to, well, buy and sell goods.
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Jack Dorsey’s little card reader that could TM has made its first journey beyond continental North America, and is now available in Japan. In order to make the leap, Square has teamed up with Sumitomo Mitsui Card Corporation, the business that introduced Visa to the country. The transaction rate for the service is 3.25 percent, up half a percent from the 2.75 percent payable in North America and Canada. It’s been a long time coming, considering that PayPal Here arrived in Japan over a year ago — but hopefully now the pair can slug it out in the streets of Tokyo, Super Sentai style.
Filed under: Misc, Peripherals, Mobile
Via: The Next Web
Mobile payments provider Square has reached its third market, going live in Japan today. The launch – in partnership with Sumitomo Mitsui Card Corporation – marks Square’s first spread outside of North America, where it has been operating in the US and Canada from 2010. As there, the Japanese service will accept swiped payments via the Square Reader, a dongle that plugs into the headphone jack of an iOS or Android device.
With that in place, and the Square app installed, anybody can take a payment from a credit card. Square charges a 3.25-percent transaction fee in Japan, and is promising next-day deposits for “participating banks” and deposits within a week for other banks.
Meanwhile, Square will soon offer Square Wallet functionality in Japan, which will allow for direct payments between accounts, rather than requiring a credit card or cash. Square will also offer businesses the option of using a traditional cash drawer and receipt printer, though the app can send an email receipt by default.
Mobile payments are a growing business, and Japan has been ahead of the curve for some time with cashless options. Cellphones in the country have long been able to use mobile wallet systems, with subscribers able to charge travel, goods, and services to their monthly bill.
Square does not currently offer a Chip & PIN option – where credit or debit cards have an embedded microchip, similar in appearance to a phone SIM card, and the customer must punch in their PIN code to authorize the payment – which is in use in Japan, with the old-fashioned “swipe and sign” process used instead. The company is also working on a system for small payments between friends and family, with Square Cash going into closed beta recently.
Square mobile payments go live in Japan is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Mobile payments provider Square has launched an PayPal rival, Square Cash, offering a straightforward way for individuals to exchange small sums direct to each others’ debit cards. The invite-only beta, which Square has confirmed is rolling out gradually, attempts to make sending a payment as straightforward as filling in recipient details, an amount, and a message.
The demo animation on the sparse Square Cash site shows an example transaction, with one person sending a $25 payment to a friend in return for drinks at dinner. The concept appears to be a more individual approach to mobile money than the business Square is best known for, where an iPhone or iPad dongle is used to swipe credit or debit cards, and intended for merchants to process payments from general customers.
Instead, Square Cash appears to work more like PayPal or Cenmo, or indeed Google’s recent integration of Google Wallet into Gmail. There, Gmail users can send payments to friends by simply clicking a button in their email inbox.
Just as with those other services, Square Cash requires that both users be signed up to begin with. Then, transactions are sent directly between debit cards; the sender uses their regular email account to send a message with the sum involved in the subject line, and as long as they CC Square Cash in the email, the money is exchanged.
The recipient gets a similar email, with a link they can click to approve the exchange. Until that link is clicked, the sender can cancel the payment; there’s a $0.50 cost per payment, charged to the sender.
That’s slightly higher than Google’s minimum fee of $0.30 – based on a 2.9-percent processing fee – but if you’re sending more than around $17.58 then Square’s set cost works out cheaper.
There’s no telling when Square Cash will launch publicly, and the company itself is giving little away.
VIA: TechCrunch
Square Cash tipped to make splitting the check email-simple is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Square’s been venturing beyond those tiny credit card swipers as of late. Last week, the company introduced its nifty $299 Stand POS system for iOS, and now it appears to be branching out to individuals, with a to-be-announced service called Square Cash. There’s not much info to share at this point — TechCrunch recently discovered a dedicated landing page for the new service, which looks to be invite only at this point. There does seem to be an option to request an invitation, but the button isn’t properly linked, so we weren’t able to make our way to the proper form in order to take a closer look.
A handful of help articles do shed some light on the service, though. To send money, you’ll simply send an email to your recipient with the dollar amount in the subject line and “pay@square.com” in the cc field. Once your friend or associate receives the email, they’ll type in the debit card account number of their choosing and Square will fund the associated checking account within 48 hours. Each payment costs just 50 cents to send, and there’s no cost to receive — it’s not quite clear whether or not you can use a credit card to fund the transfer, but with fees of less than $1, we imagine you’ll need to use a checking account. Square has yet to formally introduce the service, but we’re guessing an announcement will be coming soon.
Filed under: Internet
Via: TechCrunch
Source: Square Cash, Sending Square Cash
Square just announced a new product meant to replace traditional point-of-service systems: the aptly named Square Stand. The hardware turns an iPad (2 or 3; support for the Lightning connector is coming later this year) into an all-in-one POS with an integrated card reader that accepts cash, plastic and Square Wallet payments. Available for pre-order today, the stand will set business owners back a rather steep $299, but the sleek design has a decidedly smaller footprint than the cash registers of yore, and it offers merchants real-time analytics for tracking sales via the Square Register app. Of course, if you want the full retail setup, you’ll still have to spring for Square’s receipt printer, barcode scanner and cash drawer.
Though the Square Stand won’t be available until July 8th, several merchants throughout the country, including Cafe Grumpy in New York City and Morelli’s Ice Cream in Atlanta, will be operating the device starting tomorrow. And given Square’s partnership with Starbucks, we wouldn’t be surprised if the system soon shows up at the coffee chain as well.
Source: Square
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