# Square; Credit Card on mobile



## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

Has anyone see or used one of these?
https://squareup.com/

Saw it the news last week...
At 2.75% + 0.15 on the transaction... and that is it.

This maybe the perfect thing, for our TKD School.
We have been looking for a better way to take CC payments when we host tournaments, go out to fairs, and other events.

Right now, we still use the old-school "slider" carbon copy system, and then key them into the terminal at the school the next day.

I was also thinking, since this is free to signup...
This would be a good thing to have, personally.

I often setup paintball events, and other outings and I get paid back.
Typically via PayPal, but at times.. people have wanted to pay the day of... and "forget"... or when you are out with friends and stuff... you can pay with your card, get your points... and have them pay you with their CC..

But I am really more intrested in this for the school


----------



## matt (Jan 12, 2010)

I keep seeing this on the news. Hasn't this been available for at least a year from other providers?


----------



## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

matt said:


> I keep seeing this on the news. Hasn't this been available for at least a year from other providers?


I've been looking around, and it looks like these guys have been around for over a year already...

I was actually really surprised that PayPal didn't have a version of this.

This may also be a good thing for my brother (Driveway Mechanic).


----------



## dmurphy (Sep 28, 2006)

Earl - I use Square for the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame... It really, truly is as awesome as it seems!!

We were paying through the nose for a traditional card reader.... This way saves us a fortune and means we can accept donations, sell merchandise, etc. anywhere & everywhere..... It rocks!!!

.... And as you said, I have two accounts... One for the NJBHOF, and one for myself personally.... Very, very cool!


----------



## gpg (Aug 19, 2006)

My son, a professional musician, has used it for some of his clients. Apparently it works well.


----------



## RasputinAXP (Jan 23, 2008)

Friend of mine uses this to sell her crafts at shows (bazaars, craft fairs, what have you) and her sales have tripled. She'll never go back to cash only.


----------



## dmurphy (Sep 28, 2006)

"matt" said:


> I keep seeing this on the news. Hasn't this been available for at least a year from other providers?


There are some other providers - in fact, I've seen a card reader attachment at the Apple store - but those usually require a traditional merchant account.... What makes Square different is that there are no monthly fees, no contracts, etc. Just the rate Earl posted per transaction, and that's it.... It's a game-changer, as far as I'm concerned...


----------



## Yoda-DBSguy (Nov 4, 2006)

I use square personally and for business use as well.

I've had a traditional merchant account for years and here's the bottom line of why I switched.

With a traditional merchant account your paying a processor a monthly statement fee as well as a minimum base fee. Recently most of them also started changing a PCI compliance fee either monthly or quarterly.

With my previous merchant account I was paying almost $60.00/month just to have the ability to take multiple card types; and that was on top of the actual percentages and transactions fee associated with any charges I actually ran. the benefit was for those charges I did run, the percentage of the transaction charges was less then squares 2.7% swiped or 3.5% manually entered rates.

With square there is no contract period, no equipment to purchase or lease and of course no monthly fee. they simply take their stated percentage off the top of the tans action at the time of it's completion and in turn deposit the remaining amount directly into your account.

What I like about square are the following:

Next day initiation to an external bank account (takes 1-2 days on average to get into my bank account).
The credit swipe itself (the "square") is provided at no charge what so ever).
The app is clean, easy to use and provides both sms and email receipt options for your customers on the fly.
The fact that it runs natively on an iPhone or Android (possibly more platforms at this time) which saves me from lugging around more equipment everywhere I go.

*What I do recommend is you provide a stylus for your customer to sign the verification screen as it provides much more clarity then signing with a finger.*

I've used square for the past 6 months and couldn't be happier with the service.

*There is a pitfall however, for those doing a lot of monetary volume on a transaction. It is outlined as follows:*Their system will calculate whether you accepted more or less than $1,000 from 7 days prior to every transaction. If you accept over $1,000 in that time frame, anything above that will remain in your Square account for 30 days and anything under, the payout will be initiated within 24-36 hours. As most charge backs and refunds occur within 30 days, your Square balance helps to mitigate this.

*For those businesses doing more then the above references $1000/wk volume, you can contact square and fill out a merchant verification and request an increase from the $1000 base limit as described above to a higher amount (I moved mine to $25,000).


----------



## The Merg (Jun 24, 2007)

Wow. This is awesome. I currently accept payments via PayPal and will accept credit cards that way, but this is so much better. Along with a lower fee than paypal (2.75% + $0.15 vs. 2.9% + $0.30), the convenience of taking a payment on the spot is much nicer.

I am definitely signing up for this for my business.

- Merg


----------



## The Merg (Jun 24, 2007)

The one thing I am confused over is how SquareUp handles cash payments. Is it just that you are documenting a sale paid with cash and no money is actually being transferred to/from SquareUp?

- Merg


----------



## dmurphy (Sep 28, 2006)

"The Merg" said:


> The one thing I am confused over is how SquareUp handles cash payments. Is it just that you are documenting a sale paid with cash and no money is actually being transferred to/from SquareUp?
> 
> - Merg


Correct - it's just a convenient way to give your cash customers a receipt... No funds change hands.

Square rules!!!


----------



## The Merg (Jun 24, 2007)

dmurphy said:


> Correct - it's just a convenient way to give your cash customers a receipt... No funds change hands.
> 
> Square rules!!!


Awesome... I might just do a few cash transactions for myself to see how they show up! 

- Merg


----------



## BubblePuppy (Nov 3, 2006)

Just received this email from Square:


> Starting today, Square has dropped the 15¢ fixed fee on payments you accept using your Square card reader. Now you'll simply pay 2.75% per transaction, no matter what you sell.


Sent using DBSTalk on Android.


----------



## TBlazer07 (Feb 5, 2009)

BubblePuppy said:


> Just received this email from Square:
> 
> Sent using DBSTalk on Android.


I got that too (just signed up the other day, waiting for scanner). Gotta be a gimmick somewhere, no one just drops prices for no reason.  15c a swipe is a lot for them to give up. Maybe they heard of a competitor on the horizon.


----------



## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

TBlazer07 said:


> I got that too (just signed up the other day, waiting for scanner). Gotta be a gimmick somewhere, no one just drops prices for no reason.  15c a swipe is a lot for them to give up. Maybe they heard of a competitor on the horizon.


Or, they heard from some of their target audience... that it was too much.

SERIOUSLY now..

Think of this device for Girl Scouts / Boy Scouts, when they do their popcorn and cookie sales.

That $0.15 is a big chunk.

Or even to the small concession stands... for those $1 charges (yes... people do, do that)


----------



## epifano83 (Oct 5, 2008)

I have a Square account for my side jobs and I love it!!! They also offer accounts for personal use as well. 
I signed up for it over a year ago and received my card reader back in October of 2010. I believe the reason most people didn't receive there cc readers the 1st year was because they had bigger demand than they anticipated and they had to modify there business agreement as well.
But for the most part I would truly recommend it


----------



## TBlazer07 (Feb 5, 2009)

Earl Bonovich said:


> Or, they heard from some of their target audience... that it was too much.
> 
> SERIOUSLY now..
> 
> ...


Absolutely. A great deal for everyone .... except them. They must do a lot of swipes and those 15c they gave up add up fast.

Why doesn't DirecTV do that when THEIR "target audience" complains about fees! :lol:

I've grown very skeptical in my old age. I've found that when something usually seems too good to be true something else is at play. 

Anyway, I had just logged on to their site and got a "security certificate error." I wonder what their connection to Amazon.Com is.

(see attached)


----------



## epifano83 (Oct 5, 2008)

http://squareinc.cmail3.com/t/r/l/ykihkrt/blyuluukt/r

This might help any question with some of the small fees, I received this email this afternoon.


----------



## The Merg (Jun 24, 2007)

Just logged into my account and checked the FAQ...



> Square's card processing fees are simply:
> 
> 2.75% for swiped transactions
> 
> 3.5% + 15¢ for keyed-in transactions


Even better than before...

- Merg


----------



## TBlazer07 (Feb 5, 2009)

Just got my card scanner. Pretty cool except it takes about 6 "swipes" to read a card (tried different cards). Sold myself a few things to test and got paid very quickly. Great way for cheap cash advances or "cashing in" an Amex or Visa gift card.


----------



## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

TBlazer07 said:


> Anyway, I had just logged on to their site and got a "security certificate error." I wonder what their connection to Amazon.Com is.
> 
> (see attached)


Looks like they are a customer of Amazon. Remember, they do more than sell items to people, they also sell web cloud services.


----------



## The Merg (Jun 24, 2007)

TBlazer07 said:


> Just got my card scanner. Pretty cool except it takes about 6 "swipes" to read a card (tried different cards). Sold myself a few things to test and got paid very quickly. Great way for cheap cash advances or "cashing in" an Amex or Visa gift card.


The idea of cashing in the gift card is terrific. That's a small fee to pay for doing that...

I just got my scanner too, but haven't tried it out yet. I assume that with those test transactions, it's actually costing you that 2.75%, but I suppose 3 cents for a $1 swipe isn't too bad for a test.

- Merg


----------



## Yoda-DBSguy (Nov 4, 2006)

Just FYI:
Be advised that when running a transaction, the hold amount on the customers bank side will show up for 40% more than the actual transaction. This will be released and the correct amount will go though when the bank charge actually reconciles. I only mention this as it throws customers for a loop for those who constantly check their account. I suggest you make them aware before charging ( especially on large charges).


----------



## The Merg (Jun 24, 2007)

Yoda-DBSguy said:


> Just FYI:
> Be advised that when running a transaction, the hold amount on the customers bank side will show up for 40% more than the actual transaction. This will be released and the correct amount will go though when the bank charge actually reconciles. I only mention this as it throws customers for a loop for those who constantly check their account. I suggest you make them aware before charging ( especially on large charges).


I'm surprised that there is no mention of that in their FAQ (at least not that I found). How long does it seem to take for the charge to go through? Minutes, hours, days?

- Merg


----------



## dmurphy (Sep 28, 2006)

"Yoda-DBSguy" said:


> Just FYI:
> Be advised that when running a transaction, the hold amount on the customers bank side will show up for 40% more than the actual transaction. This will be released and the correct amount will go though when the bank charge actually reconciles. I only mention this as it throws customers for a loop for those who constantly check their account. I suggest you make them aware before charging ( especially on large charges).


I believe that only happens if you have the 'tipping' options turned on in Square... I could be wrong, but that's what I recall..

Edit: link https://help.squareup.com/customer/...-was-charged-more-than-the-transaction-amount


----------



## Yoda-DBSguy (Nov 4, 2006)

The Merg said:


> I'm surprised that there is no mention of that in their FAQ (at least not that I found). How long does it seem to take for the charge to go through? Minutes, hours, days?
> 
> - Merg


On average a day or 2 max.

You can find more info about it on their forums from other members. It's typically not a huge deal; however on large purchases it might be if the customer isn't aware of it upfront.

They recently changed how long it takes to inituiate a transfer to your bank which is currently transpires the very next day (it use to take 2-3 days to start the transfer process). So this change has also sped up the withdrawl process on the client side as well.


----------



## Yoda-DBSguy (Nov 4, 2006)

dmurphy said:


> I believe that only happens if you have the 'tipping' options turned on in Square... I could be wrong, but that's what I recall..
> 
> Edit: link https://help.squareup.com/customer/...-was-charged-more-than-the-transaction-amount


Nope, happens with or without the tipping option selected....

Again, it's not a big deal, just FYI.....


----------



## TBlazer07 (Feb 5, 2009)

Yoda-DBSguy said:


> Just FYI:
> Be advised that when running a transaction, the hold amount on the customers bank side will show up for 40% more than the actual transaction. This will be released and the correct amount will go though when the bank charge actually reconciles. I only mention this as it throws customers for a loop for those who constantly check their account. I suggest you make them aware before charging ( especially on large charges).


 My $10.30 purchase shows up as exactly $10.30 in my Pending Payments (authorizations) on my Amex card. In my case there was no larger authorization.


----------



## TBlazer07 (Feb 5, 2009)

Yoda-DBSguy said:


> Nope, happens with or without the tipping option selected....
> 
> Again, it's not a big deal, just FYI.....


 Actually it is a very big deal. If I was running a swipe for a customer's $80 purchase using their $100 Amex or Visa gift card it would fail. That makes little sense to me.

Edit: Or if someone is using a DEBIT card it would suck their available funds for a week and possibly cause bounced checks. Imagine a $400 debit card swipe holding $560 ? Something doesn't sound right.

Edit Edit: I just ran a $10.70 charge on my VISA DEBIT card and the authorization was for exactly $10.70. So far AMEX and Bank Debit authorized the exact amount of the charge.

Took about 12 swipes. That's is a bit annoying.


----------



## Yoda-DBSguy (Nov 4, 2006)

TBlazer07 said:


> My $10.30 purchase shows up as exactly $10.30 in my Pending Payments (authorizations) on my Amex card. In my case there was no larger authorization.


Try running it against a debit card logo'd as a Visa or M/c and see what you get in the pending stats of your bank account. :grin:


----------



## Yoda-DBSguy (Nov 4, 2006)

TBlazer07 said:


> Actually it is a very big deal. If I was running a swipe for a customer's $80 purchase using their $100 Amex or Visa gift card it would fail. That makes little sense to me.
> 
> Edit: Or if someone is using a DEBIT card it would suck their available funds for a week and possibly cause bounced checks. Imagine a $400 debit card swipe holding $560 ? Something doesn't sound right.


Here's the info straight from squareup on the metter. However customers such as myself have noticed the additional hold even when tipping wasn't enabled on most if not all charges. It is dicussed heavilyy on their support forums as I mentioned.


```
https://help.squareup.com/customer/portal/articles/16255-a-quick-tip-on-tipping
```


```
https://help.squareup.com/customer/portal/articles/12791
```
This can also happen for an interuppted or incomplete process as indicated here:

```
https://help.squareup.com/customer/portal/articles/14580-cardholder-may-see-cancelled-interrupted-transaction-as-pending
```


----------



## TBlazer07 (Feb 5, 2009)

"Yoda-DBSguy" said:


> Try running it against a debit card logo'd as a Visa or M/c and see what you get in the pending stats of your bank account. :grin:


I just did. $10.70 authorized for exactly $10.70 on Visa debit (Wells Fargo Bank/Wachovia). $10.70 authorized for $10.70 on Chase Visa, and $10.25 authorized for $10.25 on Costco Amex Business card. 3 for 3, all correctly authorized.

Sounds like an error where tipping, even if turned off, was being added. Maybe they fixed it.

With TIPPING I could understand. As an "error" due to a failed transaction I could also understand. But on a normally processed swipe, it makes no sense at all. Your links point to tipping and incomplete transactions. Your post made it sound like ALL transactions are authorized for 40% more. That would be a total fail.


----------



## Yoda-DBSguy (Nov 4, 2006)

TBlazer07 said:


> I just did. $10.70 authorized for exactly $10.70 on Visa debit (Wells Fargo Bank/Wachovia).
> 
> Maybe they fixed it.
> 
> With TIPPING I could understand. As an "error" due to a failed transaction I could also understand. But on a normally processed swipe, it makes no sense at all.


All I know is it happened all Christmas season on my large ticket clients as well as for others on the user support forum.

LOL, I noticed today after a quick search that they also took down their user forums and replaced it with their preset "knowledge base", thus removing all the complaints about this and a few other measures in one fowl sweep.....

In any event; I'm happy with their service and love the fact that I don't have to pay standardized monthly statement or terminal fees much less a minimum for taget percentages on low rates....


----------



## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

Yoda-DBSguy said:


> "in one fowl sweep..."




Didn't you mean in one 'fell swoop'?


----------



## Yoda-DBSguy (Nov 4, 2006)

Blame my mother. She's Cuban and screwed up all the normal "sayings" during my childhood.


----------



## TBlazer07 (Feb 5, 2009)

Nick said:


> Didn't you mean in one 'fell swoop'?


 Maybe he was talking about dead birds!. :lol:


----------



## BubblePuppy (Nov 3, 2006)

Squareup announces processing $1,000,000 worth of transactions a day. Do the math.


----------



## TBlazer07 (Feb 5, 2009)

BubblePuppy said:


> Squareup announces processing $1,000,000 worth of transactions a day. Do the math.


$7 of that was mine! It was great for clearing out 7 $1 balances on Amex gift cards. :lol: Cost me 3c per card. Couldn't get rid of that dollar any other way because everywhere I tried pre-authorized for $1 which killed off the balance for 10 days.

Still takes about 6 swipes of any card before it registers. Makes for a real nuisance when someone wants to pay and leave.

Amex must make zillions on leftovers on their gift cards.


----------



## The Merg (Jun 24, 2007)

They still haven't replied to two e-mails I sent them over a week ago via their website... Hmmm.....

- Merg


----------



## Alebob911 (Mar 22, 2007)

Thank you! Thank you!, Earl for posting this info!! Mrs. 911 and I have been paying on a traditional merchant account for her photo business and don't use it all that much but the rates are getting out of hand! This is what we've been looking for! Just signed up!


----------



## BubblePuppy (Nov 3, 2006)

"TBlazer07" said:


> $7 of that was mine! It was great for clearing out 7 $1 balances on Amex gift cards. :lol: Cost me 3c per card. Couldn't get rid of that dollar any other way because everywhere I tried pre-authorized for $1 which killed off the balance for 10 days.
> 
> Still takes about 6 swipes of any card before it registers. Makes for a real nuisance when someone wants to pay and leave.
> 
> Amex must make zillions on leftovers on their gift cards.


Excellent idea.... now to go on my used gift card hunt.
This might become a popular money laundering method. Hmmm.


----------

