Square Personal Credit Card Reader Will Change Everything

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what is the cost on the square?

jar jar of TX 1:51PM January 25, 2012

Square is a great story and its founder is a great entrepreneur, but merchants need to look beyond the hype and into the numbers. The question you should be asking yourself is "Does it make sense for me to accept credit card with Square?" For some the answer will be "yes" (as for the cupcake baker in our story: http://blog.unibulmerchantservices.com/cupcakes-credit-card-processing-and-square), but for quite a few the answer will be "no."
Simply put, Square is a good match for merchants with low monthly processing volumes (because it comes with no monthly or any other fixed fees) and for merchants whose average transaction amount is very low (because Square charges no fixed transaction fee). However, for everyone else its 2.75% per-transaction rate is simply way too high, as the industry average hovers around 1.70% plus $0.20 per transaction.

G.S. of MA 7:07PM October 26, 2011

You should probably do a fact check prior to posting an article that makes such strong statements about square vs. the competition. You said that Square charges much lower per-transaction cost, which is untrue. Square charges 2.75% of the processing amount for all card types. In contrast, most of it's competitors charge 1.39% for debit and 1.79% for credit.
Let's do a breakdown of fees on a $25 transaction:
Square (debit or credit) = $0.69 fee
Competitor (debit) = $0.35 fee
Competitor (credit) = $0.44 fee
By no means am I saying that square isn't cool - it really is a brilliant concept - but your reason for using it should not be cost. It is unique, simple, and easy to setup but it is more expensive than most of the competition.

Basil Siddiqui of CA 7:23PM February 28, 2011

No, Obama should not be rewarding insecure technologies.
Here's a question for you Mrs. Cary, and Jack Dorsey:
"What about other apps recording audio in the background while Square runs, and later decoding the credit card numbers with software like Sephail's dab.c?"
I look forward to both your responses.

Ali of AK 5:44PM October 05, 2010

Being Canadian, I am finally NOT embarrassed to live next door to the US.
They finally got it RIGHT when they elected a smart man for a change.... so long over due... sadly, poor Obama has a lot to fix, thanks to the previous butt head.
I just hope it wasn't a lucky fluke when Obama was elected and that Americans don't muck things up when election time rolls around. I wish Obama can rule the world.

tilly 2:26AM October 05, 2010

I thought you wrote a fair assessment. As in most things though there are usually ‘BUTS’.
Take illegal’s as an example and obama’s illegal Aunt in particular who should not be in America. She drains our social security with like $750 a month disability check. She basically did not pay into the system. She receives public housing, likely food stamps, and Medicaid. How many such people steals our resources ?
You may recall President of Mexico jumped Arizona with obama’s blessing over illegal immigration. Did you know Mexico has a much more restrictive law on this than us ? There has been little fanfare but Mexico is building a boarder fence system on their southern boarder.
Another issue is illegal’s and foreigners coming here to have children. Many times we pay the medical cost and present them with citizenship papers. Then here debate we must in good conscious make parents U.S. citizens. Then how about other family members so not to break up families ? Where does it end ? 4th cousins ?
My next point is controversial and am certain the Supreme Court of our land will have to decide the issue. Will be as heated as say Row vs. Wade and same sex marriage. Issue being forced to buy heath care. In particular, obamacare, though forced to buy boils my blood. I accept I must buy car insurance because I choice to drive a car. I can decide not to have heath care given me unless I can afford. Heath insurance is my option to buy in my opinion.
Tim, You and I both see the importance of pre-existing conditions for viable Nation health insurance. We differ in being forced to comply. That is my assessment anyhow..
As of now no one is forced to buy heath care, else pre-existing conditions would be no issue here and now. How Nations (with social health care) partial deal with this, as well as high cost, is restrictive care. Concept Sarah Palin pointed out long ago and was rebuffed for speaking out on. .
Being able to buy health insurance when you get sick makes obamacare not practical. Adults are responsible for their actions. The big bad health insurance isn’t…

Bill Hedges of MO 4:53PM October 04, 2010

Eliminating the issue with pre-existing conditions does not raise health-care costs IF AND ONLY IF very large numbers of (mostly healthy) people are on health insurance. This is why the government wants/needs to force everybody to have health insurance. If everybody has health insurance than the issue of pre-existing conditions goes out the door - everybody already has insurance.
I would hope everybody can agree that it requires many healthy people paying and not using premiums in order to pay for the few non-healthy people that use far more services than they pay for. There is nothing wrong with this - it is the concept of insurance.
HOWEVER if a particular demographic of people like 18~30 year olds choose NOT to purchase health insurance because they are generally pretty healthy and decide to take their chances then the pool of health people paying premiums but not using them is vaporized. Maybe instead of paying $7500 a year for insurance, the government fines them $1500 a year for having no insurance. (I don't know what the numbers are and maybe nobody does - yet but I think the point becomes fairly obvious.)
So, this healthy group of people makes a financial decision to not buy insurance. They know that on the off-chance that they require expensive medical care, there would be no pre-existing condition clause such that they can simply buy the insurance then.
Am I just understanding this incorrectly or is this a scenario where the evil insurance companies really go bankrupt and leave the rest of us with no insurance?

Tim M of PA 2:30PM October 04, 2010

Whenever conservatives talks of tax cuts liberals go into loss/debt to government coffers. Liberals must ignore the facts of life.
Cutting taxes increase government revenue for government from the rich:
“The tax cuts of the 1920s”
“The share of the tax burden paid by the rich rose dramatically as tax rates were reduced. The share of the tax burden borne by the rich (those making $50,000 and up in those days) climbed from 44.2 percent in 1921 to 78.4 percent in 1928.”
“The Kennedy tax cuts”
“Just as happened in the 1920s, the share of the income tax burden borne by the rich increased following the tax cuts. Tax collections from those making over $50,000 per year climbed by 57 percent between 1963 and 1966, while tax collections from those earning below $50,000 rose 11 percent. As a result, the rich saw their portion of the income tax burden climb from 11.6 percent to 15.1 percent“.
“The Reagan tax cuts”
“The share of income taxes paid by the top 10 percent of earners jumped significantly, climbing from 48.0 percent in 1981 to 57.2 percent in 1988. The top 1 percent saw their share of the income tax bill climb even more dramatically, from 17.6 percent in 1981 to 27.5 percent in 1988.”
http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2003/08/the-historical-lessons-of-lower-tax-rates?renderforprint=1
WHAT LIBERALS ALWAYS IGNORES IS ADDED REVENUE CREATED BY TAX CUT CAN BE SPENT AND EXCEEDED BY CONGRESS…
Thus the increase in revenue is not remembered but debt by overspending Congress is. Be it the cost of actual wars or in Reagan case COLD WAR.
Some wishful liberals try to blame Bush tax cut to present recession. Ignoring Clinton, lawyer obama, Dodd, Frank, and ACORN in housing scandal. Ignoring all of Bushes warning concerning Fannie, Freddy, and the financial institutions:
“Nancy Pelosi (D) Caught Lying: Says Bush Didn’t Warn Congress About Financial Crisis”
http://friskaliberal.wordpress.com/2010/05/04/nancy-pelosi-d-caught-lying-says-bush-didn%E2%80%99t-warn-congress-about-financial-crisis/
“The President’s Leadership in Combating Corporate Fraud”
http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/infocus/corporateresponsibility/
Had Bush’s warnings been heeded the benefits of added revenues due to his tax cuts would clearly been seen:
“ Bush Tax Cuts Increased Tax Base, Study Says”
http://www.nysun.com/business/bush-tax-cuts-increased-tax-base-study-says/84823/
“CBO: Bush Tax Cut Extension Would Boost Economy But Also Create Deficits”
“Douglas Elmendorf, director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), said keeping the tax cuts in place would boost the economy in the short term but have a negative impact as time goes on.”
http://sayanythingblog.com/entry/cbo-bush-tax-cut-extension-would-boost-economy-but-also-create-deficits/
Article points out SPENDING, SPENDING, and more SPENDING throws a wrench into the good of tax cuts by outspending income. THERE LIES THE PROBLEM...

Bill Hedges of MO 2:05AM October 04, 2010

Now an even faster way to spend what we don't have. Did Obama come up with this idea?

R.L. Schaefer of CA 6:23PM October 03, 2010

I am sure you are one of the liberals who believes there is a big mark up in heath insurance. Well there is not.
Obama is taxing companies and that includes health companies which will raise our heath premiums. Since nothing is free except for our Mother’s love, the requiring anyone be accepted regardless of pre-existing condition is raising health cost. If there is penalty for not having insurance it goes into the pockets of government.
A sure fire plan to bust private health companies. As advertised on many videos, obama wants single payer plan. Naturally obama will blame greedy heath companies. Liberal live for that...

Bill Hedges of MO 10:48AM October 03, 2010