10:30 PM
Kakrona Chan
Square, the new mobile payment venture from Twitter Co-founder Jack Dorsey, has officially opened its doors.
This means that anyone who downloads the the Square mobile app can now order a Square reader. Square tells us that it is also now shipping a slimmer, second-generation Square reader that is compatible with iPhone 4 and can capture a wider range of swipe speeds.
Dorsey announced the news the same way he announced Square:with a tweet. “The doors are (finally) open @Square & we’re going big,” Dorsey tweeted, linking to an article in USA Today.
Dorsey announced the news the same way he announced Square:with a tweet. “The doors are (finally) open @Square & we’re going big,” Dorsey tweeted, linking to an article in USA Today.
Square is available on the iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and select Android devices, including the Droid, Droid X, Nexus One and Galaxy S. Merchants who are approved for Square accounts will be sent a free credit card reader for their device.
Combined with the Square mobile app, the reader can take credit card payments. Merchants are charged 2.75% of the purchase price plus $0.15 to swipe a card. There are no monthly charges or set-up fees and no contract is required.
Square made a big splash when it was announced last year. Since then, interest in the startup has mounted, especially as the micro-transaction space has really started to heat up.
Mobile Payment Space Heats Up
Square is one solution, but there are other players in the mobile and personal electronic payment sphere; some, like Square, are acting as a way to capture payment information from a mobile device. Others are looking to eschew traditional credit and debit cards entirely.
PayPal is investing in mobile payments and mobile transactions in a big way, and it seems to be paying off. Its parent company, eBay, reported solid earnings for the third quarter, in large part thanks to PayPal, which now contributes more than a third of eBay’s revenue.
Over the past year, we’ve spoken with PayPal several times regarding its plans for mobile payments and it’s clear that the company wants to be available in as many situations as possible.
The smartphone revolution is a driving part of the acceptance of micropayments in North America, with Visa already piloting programs in New York to accept payments via phone in shops and on the subway.
Square Up
If you have wanted a low-cost way of accepting credit cards without having to deal with the hassle of a larger-scale point of sale (POS) system, Square could be a viable solution. By requiring only a connected mobile device and the Square card reader, payment processing will be available to vendors that would normally never be able to accept credit cards.
Check out this video Square released a few weeks ago to see the product and service in action:
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