Square is launching a new card reader today
that'll let merchants accept Apple Pay and other wireless payments
systems. The new reader is a stand-alone device that, like other
wireless payment terminals, a customer just needs to tap their phone to
in order to make a payment. Square is only advertising support for Apple
Pay, but it notes that the reader has some amount of support for
Android Pay right now as well; it currently "can't guarantee support"
for all Android phones, however. There's also a card slot on one side of
the reader, allowing it to accept cards with EMV chips, which are now
starting to roll out in the US.
This is Square's first device for accepting wireless payments, and it
could go a good ways toward making them more common: Square's mobile
credit card readers are already ubiquitous among small merchants, and
those that want to start accepting chip cards will need to pick up this
new device. That said, Square's original reader spread in part because
it's available for free, while this new one will sell for $49. That's a
minor expense to a business, but someone selling concert merch isn't as
likely to pick this up. Square is now accepting reservations on the new
reader, though it doesn't say when they'll begin to ship. It's put an
initial 100 units in small businesses throughout major cities like New
York and San Francisco.
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