I have found a totally cool Android App for those of you that have a small business. It is called Square Up. With Square Up, you can process credit cards from your cell phone. Yep! You read me correctly. Process credit cards from you cell phone. There’s even a nifty little device you can attach to your phone via the Jack to swipe the card. And best of all, IT’S FREE! I jump when I hear FREE. So I quickly downloaded the App to my phone and created an account in a matter of minutes. I then went online to Activate my account and upload the Logo for my Photography Studio. And just like that I was ready to begin processing credit cards right there on my phone. And today I received my Square Up card reader. It is small. Just a 1 inch square which plugs into the earphone jack on your phone. At first I didn’t think something so small could work so efficiently but it did. I swiped my card and instantly the last 4 digits of my credit card appeared on the App screen.
If you are selling tangible products, you can quickly take a photo of the product from within the App to attach to the purchase. For me, I plan to take a photo of my client when they purchase with a credit card so I will be sure to match up the right client with the right purchase. Now obviously you can’t print a receipt from your cell phone but you can go online to your account to see your receipt, all payments to you and have the money transferred directly into the banking account of your choice.
You’re probably wondering what the fees are for processing credit cards via the Square Up App. When you swipe the card, the fee is 2.75% of the purchase price plus 15 cents. If you manually key in the transaction then the fee is 3.5% of the purchase price plus the 15 cents. But there are absolutely no application fees, monthly fees, gateway fees, etc. of any kind or any minimum requirements. And you don’t have to go through the normal red tape of an application to be able to process credit cards. And just like other credit card merchants, your money is deposited into your account on a weekly basis. You can process refunds up to 60 days from the original transaction date. The only drawbacks so far is that this App can only be used in the United States and it is not available for every device on the market. Here’s a list of devices that are currently available:
Apple iOS iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 iPod touch (2nd generation or later) iPad Google Android Motorola Droid, Droid X HTC Nexus One, Droid Incredible, Evo, Desire, Hero (With Android 2.X) Samsung Galaxy S Series, Intercept LG Ally
I am totally excited about this new App for my Droid (can’t you tell) and I can’t wait for someone to pay me with a credit card. So if you are a small business owner who is looking for a way to accept credit cards and you have one of the devices listed, I would definitely recommend this App for your business.
*Disclosure: I have not been paid or compensated in any way for this product review. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own. I just really liked this App and wanted to let everyone else know about it. Nor am I employed by Square Up.
Update May 18, 2011:
I want to thank the many readers who have made this Blog Post extremely popular and for all of your Comments. I know that many of you have sought me out due to your frustrations with Customer Service related to the use of this Application. While I have not personally experienced your frustrations while using this Application, as a Small Business Owner I sympathize with your concerns. And I wanted to let you know that I have shared your concerns with the owners of the Square Up Application. Here is a copy of a letter I recently sent them. At this time I have not received a response but as soon as I do, I will update this blog post.
I would like to respectfully request that you add the ability to contact a Customer Service Representative by telephone to you services. While many small business owners love your App and the ability to process credit card transactions with their Smartphones, way too many are frustrated by the lack of Customer Service. And every small business owner knows that the key to success in business is customer service. I bring this to your attention because when I first started using this App I was totally excited about the App and wrote a review on my blog. Well that Review has brought much traffic to my blog as well as comments. Mainly from people who want to love the App but are extremely unhappy with Customer Service. And the number one request is, “Do you have a phone number to contact them directly?” And now I am beginning to get phone calls on my business line from your customers asking me for assistance with your App. Because like many businesses (excluding yours) I have a telephone number listed on my website and blog so that potential clients can call me directly for human contact. In closing I would like to say that your App is definitely the “wave of the future” for small businesses but in order to ride that wave all the way to the shore (the bank) I would respectfully request that you put Customer Service Relations at the top of your priority list. Ultimately it is the Customers who make it possible for us to be in business. Without customers we would have no business.
Celebrate Life and Capture It!
Patricia Knight
Owner Patricia Knight Photography