Accept Payments with the Square Reader
The Square Reader connects to your compatible device via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), so it’s compatible with a wide range of devices – even ones that don’t have a headphone jack. You accept chip and contactless cards or devices such as Apple Pay, Google Pay and other contactless smartphones and watches. Square Reader is not compatible with Offline Mode at this time.
Square’s standard processing fee of 1.9% per tap, insert or swipe on Square Reader and Square Stand applies to all card payment types – chip cards, contactless and magnetic stripe cards. You can read more about how processing fees and rates are calculated. For manually processed payments, the processing fee is 2.2% per transaction.
Accept Contactless (NFC) Payments
Watch this video to learn how to accept contactless payments:
When you’re ready to charge your customer:
Make sure your reader is connected with your device.
From the Square app, add items to your current sale and then tap Charge to prepare the reader for the payment. Note: If you’re using a mobile device, or your tablet is being used in portrait mode (vertically), tap Review Sale > Charge.
When you see one green light on the reader, it’s ready to take your customer’s payment. Ask your customer to hold their card or mobile wallet over the reader to complete the sale.
When you see four green lights, hear a beep and see a confirmation in the Square app, the payment has successfully completed.
The current contactless payment limit is up to AU $200 before the customer is prompted for a PIN with Visa, Mastercard and American Express branded cards. Learn more about the contactless card PIN limit increase.
Accept Chip + PIN Payments
When your customer is ready to checkout:
Make sure your reader is connected with your device.
Open the Square app, add items to your current sale and then tap Charge. You can tap Charge before or after the chip card is inserted. Note: If you’re using a mobile device, or your tablet is being used in portrait mode (vertically), tap Review Sale > Charge.
Insert the chip card (chip-side first with the front of the card facing up) into the wide port on the top of your reader and turn the device screen to the customer for PIN entry.
If prompted to select an account, please ensure your customer selects credit, cheque or savings.
Once PIN has been entered, make sure the customer has tapped the blue tick button.
When you see four green lights on the reader and a confirmation message in the app, the payment has successfully completed and you can remove the chip card.
Swipe a Chip Card
Since processing a payment using a chip is more secure than using the magnetic stripe, you will only be able to swipe a chip card using the magnetic stripe reader if the chip in your customer’s card cannot be read. You will need to attempt to insert the card three times before you can swipe. Learn more on how to swipe card payments with the Square Magstripe Reader.
Accept Magnetic Stripe Cards
To accept magnetic stripe-only cards, use the magnetic stripe reader. Insert the reader into the headphone jack of your iOS or Android device and swipe the card. If you cannot insert the Magnetic Stripe Card Reader in to your mobile device, learn how to accept card payments on a device without a headphone jack.
Note: Bank-issued eftpos cards without a chip can’t be read by the magnetic stripe card reader. Magnetic stripe card readers are no longer included with the Square Reader and cannot be purchased separately.
For more information, review frequently asked questions about the Square Reader.