Did your Girl Scout cookie sales drive flop because nobody carries cash anymore? If so, you may need to get Square, the mobile payment solution from Twitter founder Jack Dorsey that allows anyone with an iPhone to take plastic.
Square, which launched Tuesday with iPhone and Android support, is a small, plastic cube about the size of two Chiclets. From its bottom side an audio connector plugs into the headphone port on your phone. A slot in the cube lets you pass a credit card through. When you do, a reader converts the data from the magnetic strip into an audio signal and passes it on to software on the phone.
Wired got its hands on a test unit earlier this year and put it through the paces. Based on our early look, Square appears to be a great option to let anyone with something to sell accept credit cards as payment.
And it will accept just about any type of general credit card, including Visa, Master Card and American Express. They're also working on Discover and even Diner's Club in the event you need to conduct business in the 1970s.
Currently, the hardware and required account are both free. While most point of sale systems charge merchants variable fees based on the card used, Square will charge a flat rate for all cards. Pricing was in flux during the beta period, but has since been fixed at 2.75% of each transaction, plus 15 cents, if the card is physically swiped through the Square reader. For “card not present" transactions, the fee is 3.5% plus 15 cents. Both are significantly lower than typical merchant fees charged by credit card-issuing banks.
Square's software is quite well-designed. You must have an internet connection to run it, but the good news (especially for AT&T customers) is that it will work using Wi-Fi.
For more information contact All About Jazz.
