Square Inc.

Accepting credit card payments just got smarter thanks to the Square

Apple is one company who will not suffer during the upcoming recession; in fact Apple is once again revolutionizing the business world with their newest addition, the Square.

Available on the Apple iPad, iPhone and iTouch, the Square allows users to accept credit cards via their mobile device.  The Square, a small white credit card skimmer, plugs into the headphone jack of the Apple device.

InformationWeek.com reported that the Square was expected to generate up to $10 million a year in revenue back when it first came out 2 years ago, according to it’s CEO Jack Dorsey.  The Wall Street Journal reported that the two-year-old Square has raised funds at a value of more than a $1 billion dollars.  No surprise there, Dorsey co-founded the Square, but his first major success came from a little social networking site known as Twitter.

Dorsey believes in the saying, the bigger you get the harder they want to see you fall, perhaps explaining why he has no problem stealing away Dana Wagner, Google’s senior competition counsel, to become the general counsel for Square.

Wagner’s move from the Web-search giant to Square should not come as a shock because Google is being investigated by the Federal Trade Commission for it’s business practices.

The Square will connect small business owners with consumers by giving them a better advantage on the playing field.  Many smaller businesses require a minimum payment with a credit card or refuse to accept them at all; Square is looking to change that.

iTunes App Store describes the Square as:

- For everyone. Now individuals and businesses can accept credit card payments anywhere, from garage sales to coat checks to coffee shops.


- Easy to use. Plug in your free card reader and start swiping. Track sales, tips, tax and send electronic receipts. 


- Safe and secure. Square meets all industry-standard security practices to ensure safety for you and your customers. 


Is Square safe and secure?  Back in April of this year Square ran into some problems with its new investment partner Visa.  Although it is reassuring to know that Square has Visa on its team, one can never fully trust the internet with the recent onslaught of hackings.  If the government is not safe, than how can Square be?  TUAW.com came out with an article highlighting the security issues surrounding Square that causes Visa to have its concerns.

“Square is running into some problems with its new investment partner Visa. An executive at the mobile payments company confirmed it is re-working its system to encrypt credit card data on the fly. Square now uses a dongle that plugs into a headphone jack and an iOS application to process credit card transactions. While this system complies with industry regulations, it does not take the extra step to encrypt the credit card data.

Now that Visa has joined Square as a strategic investor, the mobile payments company will be redesigning all its dongle to include this built-in encryption. Square did not comment on the financial impact of this change, but it could be costly. Square gives away the dongles for free and makes its money off a 2.75% per transaction fee. It is not clear how Square intends to absorb this extra cost.”

Currently on the Apple App Store, Square as a service has been given 3 out of 5 stars out of 8953 consumer ratings.  The current version of Square, 2.0.3. has 3.5 stars out of 30 consumer ratings.  Square is certainly undergoing the perfect time to make its mark as the economy is headed in a downwards spiral.  Twitter provides quick communication, Square is looking to do the same on the finance front.