Tag: square

Square To Help Retailers And SMBs Adopt New Payment System

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Mobile payment platform and POS device maker Square is looking to speed up adoption rate of the new EMV chip-and-PIN terminals, promising to cover any faulty charges if the business has already pre-ordered its latest card reader, set to ship this fall. While obviously hoping to convert some businesses to Square’s platform in the process, this offer could help some small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to have a smooth transition to the new POS terminals.

What Brands Should Do
For security purposes, businesses that are still using the old magnetic swipe-and-sign system are mandated to upgrade to the new chip-and-PIN EMV payment system by October. For retail brands and small business owners that haven’t been aware of this imminent change, now would be time to make the switch, and try out the benefits digital POS terminals can bring, in terms of improved security, convenience, as well as consumer data some of the digital POS platforms can gather.

 

Source: Ars Technica

Square Email Marketing

Square To Leverage Customer Data Into Email Marketing

Posted on by Lab Team

Read original story on: VentureBeat

Earlier today, mobile payment solution provider, Square announced its new expansion into email marketing. Aiming to help its cohort of businesses to engage with their customers, the company introduced a new tool suite that makes good use of its purchase and payment data to gain consumer insight and help businesses optimize their newsletter campaigns for better personalization and targeting. This marks the latest in Square’s continuous effort to diversify its revenue streams.

Header image taken from Square’s Official Blog

 

Square To Support Apple Pay Next Year

Posted on by Lab Team

Read original story on: The Next Web

We already knew Square had plans to support chip-based credit cards with its new card readers, but it looks like the payment company will not be competing directly with Apple Pay any time soon. In a recent interview with CNN, Square founder Jack Dorsey revealed plans to accept Apple’s new transaction standard at some point in 2015. Although not confirmed yet, we won’t be too surprised to see Square start supporting other NFC-based systems like Google Waller or Softcard as well.

Snapchat Teams Up With Square To Enter ePayment

Posted on by Lab Team

Read original story on: The Next Web

One step ahead of Facebook’s plan to put payment in its messaging app, Snapchat has teamed up with payment company Square to announced Snapcash, a new service that will allow users to send money to each other via Square’s system without leaving Snapchat. Now when a user signs up for Snapcash, they’ll be creating a Square Cash account at the same time. This partnership could be particularly helpful for Square, which has been trying to stay relevant in the face of the formidable Apple Pay.

For more information on the current state of mobile payment market, download and read our latest POV here.

Square Teaming Up With Big Brands To Stay Relevant

Posted on by Lab Team

Read original story on: The Street 

Fighting to remain relevant in the increasingly consolidated mobile payments world, Square is reaching out to some big-name retail brands, including Uniqlo, Burberry and Lululemon, for potential partnerships. The expanded deals are reportedly for processing fees lower than the traditional 2.75% rate Square usually charges small businesses, which has been the company’s main clientele so far.

Square Attempts To Fend Off Apple Pay With New App Cash

Posted on by Lab Team

In its latest attempts to fend off the forthcoming Apple Pay, Square introduced a new Cash App that allows people to text or email money without setting up a Square account. The recipient doesn’t need the app to get a notification, although they do need to submit their banking information for the transfer to work. Overall, it appears to be more user-friendly than other payment apps like PayPal or Venmo, but it seems doubtful that it will prevent Apply Pay from taking over the mobile payment market.

Amazon Challenging Square With New Payment Service

Posted on by Lab Team

Amazon new credit card processing service for small businesses, known as Amazon Local Register, marks Amazon’s continued expansion into mobile payments following its recent Amazon Wallet launch. This could seriously undercut Square’s current market dominance by offering a lower processing rate and a $10 smartphone cardreader. As the payment war heats up, more competitors can be expected to join.

Why Square Acquired Food Delivery Service Caviar

Posted on by Lab Team

In addition to betting big on the upcoming change in credit card tech, mobile payment pioneer Square is also wagering millions of dollars, literally, on the food delivery services that are booming on mobile. The company has announced its acquisition of Caviar, a curated food delivery platform, reportedly for $90 million in stock. Caviar aims to set itself apart from other standard delivery apps by enabling ordering from restaurants that normally don’t offer delivery service. As on-the-go payment continues to grow, tapping into different sections of the consumer market is crucial to the development of Square, and incorporating mobile food ordering into its payment system is most likely just the first step.

Why Square May Be The Herald Of Next-Gen Credit Card Tech

Posted on by Lab Team

Square, maker of the popular smartphone-supported credit card reader, is embracing the trend in card payment tech by moving away from the good ol’ swipes to the far more convenient taps. As all major credit card networks, including Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover, start urging merchants to accept cards that work via embedded chips rather than the traditional stripes primarily for security reasons, this transition seems like a smart move for Square. But to take full advantage of the impending change and prove itself as a true herald, Square would be wise to quickly adapt the PIN-based security measure that will soon come with the new cards, also know as “chip-and-PIN” cards outside U.S..

Square Pulls Wallet In Favor Of Order App

Posted on by Lab Team

The highly-touted Square Wallet isn’t working out so well, it turns out. After its launch in 2011, and support from Starbucks, the Wallet ultimately didn’t match the momentum of the company’s credit card reader, which has been a veritable success with small businesses. To match the success of the card reader, Square wants to overhaul its consumer strategy, replacing Square Wallet with Square Order, a simplified version of the Wallet that’s been in testing for a few months.

Order lets users order ahead at small businesses, and skip lines when you pick up your purchase. It also notifies users when their orders are ready. The added utility aims to attract new users as Square is baking in loyalty program and advertising opportunities which will warrant a substantially larger merchant fee of 8%.  In general, Square’s issues have been more around their business model than user experience, so well see if Order will right the ship.