Square for offline credit card transactions

[smallgiant]

Last week, while I was doing my taxes, my CPA brought up Square. I had never heard of it and thought it sounded interesting. It would definitely help with convenience for some of my offline clients, so I could accept credit cards.

It was founded by Jack Dorsey, the creator of Twitter, and Square is currently valued at over $1 billion. However, I did see there is a lot of negative reviews from the past year, but these could just be hiccups in an early business model.

Anyways, I'm just wondering if anyone has experience with them. Are there any other simple and reliable ways to accept credit cards offline?

 

[singingsleep]

I was just reading about this shit last week. If you read enough, you'll see where paypal-type shit is happening with them. After some research, I concluded that it's about a 50/50 chance whether you'll get your money or not if you use that thing. YMMV. hahaha

 

[smallgiant]

Good to know. It just seems so convenient and easy. I did read how some people have to wait weeks to get their money. Not very good support either from what I understand.

 

[marketstud]

I have been using SQUARE to take payments from my offline clients for nearly two years. It's fast and easy using any iPhone or iPad. I highly recommend SQUARE (no affiliation).

 

[mandude]

I ddint know square was around for 2 years. I started using it, and its great and payment was pretty fast. usually next day if not the next.

 

[smallgiant]

Interesting. This is why I want this to be a good service. It is everything I would want if it is functional. However, have you guys had any problems with large transactions or refunds? Those, along with customer service, seem to be the biggest problems.

 

[briansmith84]

Interesting. This is why I want this to be a good service. It is everything I would want if it is functional. However, have you guys had any problems with large transactions or refunds? Those, along with customer service, seem to be the biggest problems.

Square is a joke (mostly for holding funds)
Much better: getphoneswipe net

 

[SethTurin]

I spend a lot of time at local markets and see plenty of vendors using square, and have for years. Same is true at concerts to accept merchandise sales. These are products that can't easily be refunded, however, and the prices are usually under $200.

Still, most of the vendors I've seen are just thrilled to be able to accept CC.

 

[WastedPotential]

I have a Square reader but have yet to use it. I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that if you do one transaction over $1,000 they'll hold your money for a while. Could be an issue for those doing high ticket SEO/Web design work.

I'm kind of waiting for Paypal Here anyway. I know, Paypal's an evil cunt, but I haven't had an issue with them in 8 years. When put together with their 1% cash back card the fee is quite a bit less than Square.

Intuit also has a reader but I haven't heard much from it.

 

[Needalead]

I use Square as an offline payment source. I have had many clients ask me if it's secure. I figure if college students are using it to have their parents pay money into their bank account then it must have some clout. The payment, depending if it's from a Nationally recognized bank or a small town bank. I have gotten payments faster with recognized banks. It takes awhile when it's a small town bank.