hip to be square
Friday I received my Square credit card reader in the mail. It’s fantastic. And for small businesses, it is a must. For a long time I didn’t accept credit cards because merchant accounts were too much of a hassle. Then PayPal came along and I was able to accept credit card payments via the web. And for a company like mine, invoicing online is still a viable way to get payments. But what if you’re main business is selling in the real world?
Such a cool device! I use it on my iPhone.
The Square app and card reader are both free and the pricing is very straightforward: 2.75% per transaction. That’s it. No tiers, no complicated calculations. It’s sleek and VERY cool. A friend of mine in the industry said that this could be “disruptive”, meaning that this new product/service could cause people to drastically change their behavior and current business models may suddenly appear cumbersome and fall into obsolescence.
So if you have an iPhone or an iPad, a checking account and something to sell, this is your credit card payment solution. I can see this device popping up at yard sales, flea markets, Craig’s List sales, even that crazy-looking guy who sells News Journals on Walnut.
