Square credit card reader for smartphone

[stateofmind]

Do any of you have experience setting one of these up for your business?

I run an annual golf tournament and think this would be a great thing for us to maximize donation dollars. But I haven't looked into what is needed to accept the payments.

Currently I use PayPal to accept credit cards on our website, is that all I need? Do the readers work very well? Do you have a better suggestion for me to be able to accept credit card payments live on the course?

TIA

 

[IASTATE07]

Incredibly easy to set up. I've used it with my phone to accept payments when I make deliveries and on my tablet when I set up at events. How do the rates compare from what you get from Paypal to Square?

 

[Boxerdaddy]

I got one for a yard sale a few years back and it was really easy. It didn't have the chip reader but I can't imagine that would be any different.

 

[jpete24]

I have the Square chip reader with the RFI inside. I use it for an organization that I'm treasurer for. We have two conferences per year and we wanted to accept and take credit cards on-site for registration. It works perfectly, just make sure you charge it before you want to use it! The software is amazing as well. We actually use the Square API on the backend to accept online registration for our conferences and membership dues, which works really slick as well.

 

[stateofmind]

Incredibly easy to set up. I've used it with my phone to accept payments when I make deliveries and on my tablet when I set up at events. How do the rates compare from what you get from Paypal to Square?

I haven't looked into it yet, I wanted to see what you all said before I looked into it officially.

I got one for a yard sale a few years back and it was really easy. It didn't have the chip reader but I can't imagine that would be any different.

I didn't mean the chip reader, but I think I will as I use my watch everywhere, I would like that for convenience.

 

[Boxerdaddy]

I haven't checked rates or fees lately but square is everywhere, legit, and super easy imo.

 

[Cyclones_R_GR8]

Do any of you have experience setting one of these up for your business?

I run an annual golf tournament and think this would be a great thing for us to maximize donation dollars. But I haven't looked into what is needed to accept the payments.

Currently I use PayPal to accept credit cards on our website, is that all I need? Do the readers work very well? Do you have a better suggestion for me to be able to accept credit card payments live on the course?

TIA

We started using Square for our charity events as so many people don't carry much cash. We also figure if they are just putting it on the card they might spend a little more.
It's been really easy, I would have to talk to the guy that set it up but I think it is tied directly to your bank account so they take the payment and deposit it straight into your account. The fee seems pretty reasonable as well. Again, I would have to ask but I know we've been happy with it.

 

[CyclonesRock]

If you don't mind Square selling your clients information...I will not use a merchant that uses square if I can avoid it. There are reputable banks out there that provide a similar service at a similar price, maybe even better, but with the level of privacy that only banks currently offer.

 

[throwittoblythe]

I got one for a yard sale a few years back and it was really easy. It didn't have the chip reader but I can't imagine that would be any different.

There is a difference in liability if you only have the slide version. I went ahead and purchased the chip reader for this reason as $40 was a small cost to incur to be in compliance.

https://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/understanding-emv-fraud-liability-shift-1271.php

To the OPs question: I agree with others. My wife and I both run side businesses and use square for these transactions. It's simple and quick. I'd have to check specifically, but I want to say square charges something like 2.5%+$0.10 for dipped transactions. I believe they also take more if it's swiped or manually entered than if it is dipped.

 

[throwittoblythe]

Sorry if dumb question but what is 'dipped'?

Not a dumb question. Dipped = using the chip reader (i.e. you "dip" your card into the chip reader)

 

[1100011CS]

Not a dumb question. Dipped = using the chip reader (i.e. you "dip" your card into the chip reader)

Thanks. I was a little afraid to Google it but did anyway and this was surprisingly the first answer.