Square has been making it easier for you to pay and for businesses to make money since it was first founded in 2009, and now, it’s making it easier still. On Monday, the POS-system producer announced it now allows users to accept mobile payments, making transactions as easy as a tap on your smartphone. Thanks to a new contactless reader and chip-card reader, customers can just hold their smartphones near the Square reader, or insert a chip card, to make a payment. No more messy swiping necessary.
The first vendors to test out this new system are 100 local business owners in cities including Chicago, New York, San Francisco, and St. Louis. For just $49, the new Square Reader “optimizes for accepting authenticated payments like EMV and contactless (like Apple Pay and Android Pay),” which makes it super secure. “We’ve always wanted to offer our customers the option to pay with Apple Pay and we’re thrilled that Square has helped us make this a reality,” said Joshua Kulp, executive chef of Honey Butter Fried Chicken in Chicago.
It’s a big move for Square, whose recent IPO received a less than stellar reception. But with high demand for this latest device, CEO Jack Dorsey seems to have little to worry about. In fact, so many people are clamoring for the Apple Pay-friendly Square system that the company has noted, “We’ve had such high demand for the new Square contactless and chip reader that it’s taking us longer than expected to fulfill every order.”
“Until now, technology like our new reader has been out of reach for local businesses,” Jesse Dorogusker, head of hardware at Square, told USA Today via email. “Now Square sellers across the country can quickly and easily accept the new forms of payment that are crossing their countertops.”
