How Square works

It’s easy to start taking card payments with Square. Learn more here about how you can start taking payments in minutes.

Selling with Square is simple.

What is Square?

Square helps all sizes and types of businesses to accept contactless payments, including all major credit and debit cards and mobile payments.

With Square you can do all the things you need to help run and grow your business – from keeping track of inventory, to managing staff rosters, taking appointment bookings and more. Plus, reach even more customers and sell online with our integrated eCommerce platform. You can even build your own custom payment solutions with our APIs.

How Square works

Square connects all sides of your business with easy to use tools designed to give you time to focus on what you do best. Sign up for a free account to use with your point of sale, online store, hardware and more.

With Square, you can take card payments in person, remotely, over the phone or online with fair, transparent pricing and no long-term commitments.

Receive funds in your bank account as soon as the next working day or instantly for a fee.

Get started and get paid quickly.

Start taking payments right away – no bank visits, credit checks or merchant accounts required. Account creation and verification takes minutes, and money can reach your bank account as fast as the next business day.

  1. Download the Square POS app on your iOS or Android phone or tablet.
  2. Buy a Square Reader (and a Stand if you’re using an iPad for your POS), a Square Terminal or Square Register.
  3. Start taking every kind of payment – that’s any major card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or Samsung Pay.
  4. Get your money as soon as the next business day as standard, or straight away with Instant Transfers for a fee.

Want to learn more? Download the “How Square Can Power Your Business” guide here.

Why choose Square?

  • Quick and easy to set up and start taking payments.
  • Simple, fair transaction fees with no long-term commitments.
  • Take payments securely with our end-to-end encryption.
  • Square products work seamlessly with over a hundred third-party apps including Xero, MYOB and WooCommerce.

Hardware for selling anywhere.

We design and build our hardware in-house, so it all works together seamlessly.

Square Reader

Take contactless payments anywhere with a card reader that pairs directly with your device.

Square Terminal

Take payments, print receipts and run your business with a powerful and portable payment terminal.

Square Register

Get an all-in-one POS register with a dedicated customer display that lets you start selling right out of the box.

Square Stand

Turn your iPad into a point of sale and take every kind of payment.

Simple, flat rates and no surprises.

Keep payment processing simple with fair, transparent pricing, without hidden fees or lock-in contracts, ever.

In-person payments

Square Stand: Add your iPad and you’ve got a complete point-of-sale solution. With a Square Reader and Dock included, you can take payments right away.

1.6%

Square Terminal: The all-in-one handheld device with
Square Point of Sale, payment processing and a receipt printer built in.

1.6%

Square Register: The first fully integrated POS system for any business. Two displays and twice the versatility.

1.6%

Square Reader: Lets you accept chip and contactless cards and mobile payments.

1.6%

Card-not-present payments

Square Invoice payments: Send digital invoices, accept payments and send reminders from anywhere.

2.2%

Manually keyed-in payments: Take card payments from customers via phone with Virtual Terminal or use invoicing.

2.2%

Square Online: Take card payments from customers via eCommerce payments.

2.2%

Buy now, pay later

Buy now, pay later: Take payments via Afterpay in-person, online and via APIs, get paid in full while you let customers pay in instalments.

6% + 30c (exc. GST)

Ask about a custom rate

We can create custom pricing packages for some businesses who process over $250,000 of card transactions annually. If that’s you, get in touch with our sales team to find out if you’re eligible.

Create a custom eCommerce website

Square Online makes it easy to take orders and sell from your own free website, create online checkout links or even add payments to integrate with your existing site.

Get a business loan that works with your cash flow

With Square Loans you can get a customised offer based on your card sales through Square, and then choose your loan size. If approved, you pay just one simple loan fee and no ongoing interest rate.

Set up Square Invoices, Loyalty programs and more

Square Point of Sale offers all the integrated, customisable tools you need to run your business, all in one place.

Explore a full range of our business software

A suite of solutions, made to power every aspect of your business.

Support when you need it.

We work hard to make our products intuitive and reliable. But if you do have a question, it’s easy to get help.

Square customers can talk with the Australia-based Support team and get help from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday.

Get instant answers 24/7 in our Support Centre, which is full of helpful tips and tricks, videos and articles to help you run your business.

Join the Seller Community – an online space dedicated to Australian business owners who use Square. Explore topics, share ideas, ask a question or help out another seller.

Ready to start?

Sign up now to get started with Square.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Does Square offer custom pricing for large businesses?

    Yes. Businesses that process over AUD 250,000 per year in card payments may be eligible for custom processing rates and discounts on Square software and add-ons. To find out if your business qualifies, contact the Square Sales team.

  • Is Square Point of Sale really free?

    Yes. Square Point of Sale software has a free plan available with no setup fees or monthly software fees. You only pay a processing fee when you accept a payment. The free plan also includes a range of useful tools such as inventory management, staff management, customer relationship management and sales reporting to help you run your business efficiently and smoothly.

  • Where can I buy Square hardware in Australia?

    You can purchase Square hardware from major retailers across Australia, including JB Hi-Fi, Officeworks, Costco and Harvey Norman. Buying in-store lets you get started with Square straight away without waiting for delivery or lengthy approval processes that are common with traditional EFTPOS providers. You can find a full list of retailers and online purchase options here.

  • How fast can I set up Square?

    Square is designed for fast and easy setup. You can create an account and start accepting payments within minutes — with no complex onboarding required. Simply download the Square app and connect your hardware or use Tap to Pay to start selling with just your iPhone or Android device.

  • Is Square suitable for restaurants, cafes and bars?

    Yes. Square is built for the hospitality industry, offering tools designed specifically for cafes, restaurants and bars. Features include multi-channel menu management, table layouts, coursing, integrated kitchen display system, and self-serve kiosk ordering.

    Square is also a great fit for retailers, beauty and professional services, with specialised POS features tailored to each type of business and the way you work.

  • Does Square work without an internet connection?

    Yes. Square includes an offline mode that lets you continue taking card payments for up to 24 hours when your internet connection or Wi-Fi is unavailable. As long as you enable offline mode before losing connection, transactions made offline are stored securely and processed automatically once you reconnect. This means you can keep accepting payments anywhere and never miss a sale even if the network goes down temporarily.*

    *You can process transactions through offline payments for up to 24 hours in a single offline session. Your offline payments will be declined if you do not reconnect to the internet within 24 hours of the start of your offline payment session. By enabling offline payments, you are responsible for any expired, declined or disputed payments accepted while offline. Square is unable to provide customer contact information for payments declined while offline. eftpos-only cards, Square Gift Cards and Afterpay transactions do not work with offline payments. Offline payments are not supported on older versions of Square Reader (1st generation – v1 and v2). Learn more on identifying your contactless reader or how to enable and use offline payments.

  • Can Square scale with my growing business?

    Yes. Square is designed to be flexible and grow with your business, whether you’re adding new locations, staff, products, or managing a loyal customer group. You can manage everything in one place with centralised management tools, synced inventory and unified reporting across all sides of your business.

    Square also supports multi-location management, custom staff permissions and integrations with leading apps for accounting, marketing, reservations, eCommerce and fulfillment. This flexibility helps your business stay connected and efficient as it expands.

1.6% card present rate applies for Square Sellers who sign up on or after 30 May 2024. The rate of 1.9% will apply for Square Sellers who signed up prior to this date when using Square Reader, Square Stand or Tap to Pay, as listed in the Square Fee Schedule.