Gettin' Made: Hip to Get Square

Three cheers to past Gettin' Made featured artist Stephanie Han Windham for posting a link to the new Square card reader on her Facebook page. This little gadget and the accompanying credit card processing app could very well revolutionize the way indie crafters operate at shows. (At the very least, it seems like it's going to make taking credit cards a lot easier!)

The new Square card reader, which you can receive for free just for downloading the Square app onto your smart phone! (picture taken from the Square website)

​

Here's how it works: you download the Square app for your iPhone, iPad or Android. Once your app is set up, register on the Square website to receive your free card reader (pictured above) in the mail. Be prepared, you'll need to provide them with personal information like what bank account you'd like funds deposited into. Once you receive your card reader, it plugs into your phones earphone jack. And that's pretty much it, you're ready to swipe credit cards!

It sounds like this will be a great alternative to the widely popular Propay system - one thing Square has over Propay is lower fees. Why is this? When you swipe the card, it's proof the card was actually there at the point of the transaction, making the chance of fraud on the deal a little bit less. (Assuming the card the customer is paying with isn't stolen - check those IDs, people!)

I've just put in my request for a card reader at the time of this writing - be on the lookout for a future post, where I'll put this baby to use and let you know how it works!

*****

For more information on the Square card reading device and to request your own, visit their website.