So I got kind of a neat little toy in the mail today…
Basically, it’s a portable credit card swiper that I can plug into my iPhone to take credit card payments pretty much anywhere I have a data connection! You also have the ability to manually type the number if it doesn’t swipe, then ask for a signature from the customer before processing the payment. Afterwards, it even gives you the option to e-mail a copy of the customer’s receipt that also contains a copy of their signature and a Google Maps view of exactly where the transaction took place!
Best of all, the transaction rates for swiped cards are exactly the same as I currently get through PayPal (cardless transactions are rated slightly higher), plus I kinda like how my business name shows up a little more prominently on the customer’s credit card receipt, too. I guess PayPal technically does this as well, but if I remember right it’s a more abbreviated version or something.
Either way, the adapter was completely free from Square – all I did was sign up for an account and about a week later it showed up in the mail, so ultimately I think this is a cool, little addition to my business that’s going to make things a lot easier when I meet someone in person who wants to buy one of my books but doesn’t have any cash on them. I’ve already heard a lot of good stories about people using them at conventions for their sales, so it’s neat to see that something like this is finally available to smaller businesses that would’ve normally cost hundreds of dollars a month in fees even without processing any transactions at all.