Accepting Payments, Anywhere, Anytime

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you need someone to pay you, but they only have a credit card? That scenario can happen to you as an individual, as a small business, or even as a church.  That typically means that you are out of luck. Accepting credit cards meant the hassle of a merchant account and an expensive point of sale unit. A new company called Square has an interesting solution. They provide an app that turns your iPod Touch, iPad, iPhone, or Android devoice into a complete point of sale system. You can accept payments, send receipts via email, and more.

We are finding ourselves more in a cashless society where transactions are increasingly made with debit or credit cards, and this app opens up a new world of possibility. Do you have a cafe at your church? What about selling tshirts or snacks as a fundraiser? With your phone, you can literally accept payments anywhere.  There is no monthly fee and their per transaction fees are competitive. The system works by using a small card reader that attaches through the audio port of your device. The card reader is free and I should be getting mine any day now. See the pics and video below for more information.

To signup, download the app for your device and go to Square’s website to setup your account.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBieYjxUj5Q

Mike

I am a former design engineer who now pastors Cornerstone Community Church in Galax, Virginia. I'm passionate about following Jesus and I love technology. I've been married to Jennifer for 28 years, and we have three adult children.

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4 Responses

  1. Martin Chilvers says:

    Why always i-aps; never anything for Windows Smartphones?

    • Mike says:

      Thanks for dropping by. I’m hoping that the new Windows Mobile phones will be a huge improvement. I’ve had a Dell Axim pocketpc, a Motorola Q, and a HTC 6800 windows mobile phone, and all of them simply don’t compare to iphones or androids. The user interface is simply incredible on the non-windows devices. Microsoft has really hurt themselves by not being competitive. I think it is hard for developers to justify the cost of developing for Windows Mobile when their market share is shrinking. I think it is great for competition to have options. Let’s hope that Microsoft gets it right this time.

  2. Authorize.net has offered an app on the iPhone to take cards for a while, and paypal has used “bump” for some time as well on mobile devices.

    The biggest issue with mobile devices as payment gateways is the same issue they have with everything else – input. Its not “hard” but its not “easy” either. Alternate interface development is hot right now!

    BTW, just found your blog. Fantastic!

    • Mike says:

      Glad you found the blog. So far, I like the square app. I’ve used the Paypal app before as well, and it keeps improving. Square and Paypal are great because they don’t require the monthly payment gateway fee. Thanks again!

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