SQUARE - The card reader plugs into your audio jack

Square is an insanely easy, low cost way to take credit card payments.

In my humble opinion, I think this will be the mobile innovation of 2010. The biggest impact will be on small and medium sized retailers. I don’t think large companies are nimble enough to switch to something that’s this new, even if they can see the benefits.

For small businesses, the attraction will be the ease of setup, mobility, and connectivity that Square provides to the customer. I think medium sized business will be attracted by those things as well as the competitive fee structure.

One of the founders of twitter, Jack Dorsey, launched this start-up last year, and this week their iPhone app went live on the iTunes App Store.

Now anyone can use their mobile device (iPhone/iPad/Android phone) to take payments anywhere. It uses a small card reader that connects to the audio jack on your phone. (!?!) Signup is simple and free.

Square can let you know if someone is a repeat customer who may be entitled to a freebie – like punch cards do now. Square will also donate one cent of each transaction to the charity of your choice.

Square’s card processing fees are:
2.75% + 15¢ for swiped transactions
3.5% + 15¢ for keyed-in transactions
There are no activation, gateway, monthly, early termination, or hidden fees.

You can track all payments online & send receipts to customers electronically. No paper.

Square will automatically send your money to your bank account when your account balance exceeds $10. It can take 1-2 business days (depending on your bank) for the electronic transfer to clear.

It’s like kind of like Paypal on the go… but cooler. And cheaper.

One concern I have is for vendors that have a large volume of transactions every day. How much physical strain will all those swipes put on the smartphone’s headphone jack? I assume that – at some point – someone will develop a standalone bluetooth reader that will make swiping cards even easier.

LINKS:
https://squareup.com/features

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSzsFAJAKHI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBieYjxUj5Q