Is Square is the easiest credit card reader merchant account with no monthly fees you can signup for in Australia?
Based on my experience from 2016 and prior years, yes, definitely!
If you have ever setup a merchant account with a traditional bank you have no doubt experienced the paperwork and fees charged.
If you want to quickly get started and get a period of completely free transactions for up to $1000 processed you can use our referral link: https://squareup.com/i/841150C3
You can find out more about Square and signup at: https://squareup.com
Credit Card Processing Fees
Let me be clear here, if you have a deal with a bank for your merchant services that is charging under 1% for transactions and you are taking over $1000 per week in sales then the Square merchant account may not be cheaper.
Square’s processing fee is just 1.9% per inserted, swiped or manually entered transaction and 2.5% for each paid Square Invoice.
Square’s Payment Processing Fees
At sign up, merchants are automatically enrolled in standard pricing:
- 1.9% for each card processed through the Square Register app
- 2.5% for each Square Invoice paid securely online
Every card accepted has the same rate and fees are taken out of the total amount of each transaction, including GST and tip.
No Hidden Fees
There are no separate fees for the following:
- Activation
- Early termination
- Interchange
- Chargebacks
- Cash payments
- Refunds
- Inactivity
- PCI compliance
Credit card fees are included in Square’s fees, so you will not incur any charges from credit card companies.
The details above were copied from the Square website in Oct 2016.
Consider the alternatives
A merchant account with one of the traditional service providers is probably going to cost between $0.50 and $2.50 per day plus transaction charges. That is regardless of whether you use the service or not.
I’d recommend stripe or eway or paypal for internet merchant shopping cart transactions on a website but for a business where you are interacting with people who would prefer to tap their card or insert the chip into a reader then Square is a leading option for small businesses.
Just as an aside, I love stripe, it is seriously the easiest way to connect a shopping cart like woocommerce to credit card payments I have ever experienced. We’ve dealt with just about all the major banks and gateways in Australia and it is by far the most robust and easy to connect.
Other reasons to have a Square account
Even if you do have an EFTPOS device to capture payments at your business perhaps Square would be a great backup option in case that fails and you still want to take payments. It’s definitely not fun for a cafe, service station or other retail store to turn away customers or hang out the closed sign because you can’t process their payment.
Square uses your mobile connection for the payment approval process so even if your Plain Old Telephone Service is down, so long as your phone is charged and you’ve got a mobile data signal you should be right to take payments.
The other point which is is worth considering is that AMEX transactions are also 1.9% which may be lower than businesses might traditionally pay for AMEX if using a traditional merchant service.
Setting up a Square account
Setting up an account is really simple, even at a casual pace you should be done in under 10min.
Have your ABN, drivers licence, credit card and business bank account details handy.
The following screenshots are the signup process as of Oct 2016.
Create your account
Provide your business details
Enter your business address
Enter your personal contact details
Confirm your identity
Add details of any business partners
Link your bank account
Choose the card reader
This is the part you part for with Square, it’s a once off fee to purchase the reader.
For Australia you need to get the chip reader, that’s the standalone device not the one that plugs into the audio socket on the phone. The swipe device is useless because Australian credit cards can’t be used to swipe for payments anymore.
Confirm the purchase
The dock would be a good addition if you are using the reader all day in a retail situation so that it can stay connected to power.
Enter credit card billing details
Confirm the order
Enter your delivery address
Thats it. You’ve created a Square account and the card reader is on the way.
Have a look at the dashboard though because there are options for generating invoices and taking payments there too.
Open the Square dashboard
There is a notice about the bank verification pending but you can accept payments now if you want.
Download the Square app onto your phone or tablet.
The next 5 screenshots are straight from the Square how to part of the dashboard. Simply here so you can see how easy it is to configure.
Happy Squaring!
If you want to quickly get started and get a period of completely free transactions for up to $1000 processed you can use our referral link: https://squareup.com/i/841150C3
What’s the deal with the referral link?
PROCESS $1,000 FREE FOR EACH FRIEND YOU REFER TO SQUARE
- When your friend activates a Square account through your link, they can process up to $1,000 in credit card sales for free during their first 180 days.
- For each friend who successfully activates a Square account, you get free processing on your next $1,000 in sales over the next 180 days.
Once the square reader arrives
The setup is pretty quick. Assuming the square app is installed on the phone or tablet. You turn on the reader with the button on the side, open the app and then run through a few steps to get the reader connected.
Taking a payment is quite simple, enter an amount, press the ‘charge’ button and then tap or insert the credit card.
Brilliant. I can see this becoming a popular feature of car boot sales, market stalls, fetes, even coffee shops, mobile trades people and more.
Well done Square!
