The Square

There is a new credit card device for Iphone, Ipads, and Androids that will allow you to take credit cards anywhere without a merchant or Paypal account. It's called the Square and it is being marketed by the founder of Twitter, Jack Dorsey. It is currently being offered for free.

Basically, this device is the size of a postage stamp and it connects right to your Iphone, Ipad, Ipod Touch, or Droid and allows you to accept credit or debit card payments for anything you want. It works with an App that will generate a confirmation email when a transaction is done. The Square has been featured in articles on CNN, and the New York Times.

Basically, you download the app from the site at https://squareup.com, create an account, and then they send you information on how to sign up for the free hardware. Takes about 5 minutes. You can link this to either your business or personal bank account. (I just created an account for my small business, as 90% of my clients prefer to pay with a cc).

Square immediately settles up to $1,001.00 per week to your bank account. Any balance over your immediate settlement amount remains in your Square account for 30 days and will then be automatically deposited into your bank account. Square card payment rates:

Card-present (swiped): 2.75% + 15¢
Card-not-present (keyed-in): 3.5% + 15¢

These fees are more or less comparable to Paypal.

Paypal fees per transaction:

$0.00 USD - $3,000.00 2.9% + $0.30 USD
$3,000.01 USD - $10,000.00 2.5% + $0.30 USD
$10,000.01 USD - $100,000.00 2.2% + $0.30 USD
> $100,000.00 1.9% + $0.30 USD

I still recommend Paypal as one of the best, most secure solutions for taking online payments. Square is a new way to take payments in person or over the phone, without the hassle or costs of setting up a merchant account.

I would get this now, as no telling when this will no longer be a free offer.

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