Earlier this year, I received a new microchipped credit card from my bank as part of their move away from magnetic stripe swipe cards to this more secure format.
Now as an art show exhibitor, I'm starting to see the other side of this coin. I use Square to process payments at shows. These new credit cards require a different Square reader. It's larger than the pocket-sized readers we've all been using for the past few years and it costs $49, which Square says it will reimburse within the first 3 months of processing fees. I don't know why they won't simply offer these new readers for free like they have with their old readers, but the bigger concern here is the shift in fraud liability. The cost of fraudulent card use will no longer be shouldered by the banks, but is now shifted to us merchants.
You can read more about these changes through USA Today : http://tinyurl.com/omdma77
What do the rest of you think of these changes?
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Square says the new wireless reader cost will be reimbursed through transactions processed during the first 90 days of use. By the time they finally ship it my busy fall season will be over and I will not have any scheduled shows until spring with transactions to offset the cost of the reader reimbursement.
I guess they planned it this way knowing that many artists do fewer shows during the first few months following the holiday season. I'm sure some people do shows during the January-March months...but most artists I talk to at shows agree ans say this is their time with the fewest scheduled shows.
Greg Little > Greg LittleNovember 16, 2015 at 2:44pm
I just checked my emails and I pre-ordered the new square Bluetooth reader on June 1. That is getting to be a long wait...
It is very easy for Square to determine when sales and usage are slow or very busy. You can log into your account and see graphs that show your usage for pretty much any time frame you want.
Michael Reimer > Greg LittleNovember 16, 2015 at 11:17am
I doubt they planned it that way - plenty of non-artists use the Square and do you think they really know when artists are busy and not busy? Does Square even know I am an artist?
David, I have had the same issue. Seems you are supposed to remove the reader from you phone until you process a payment. The reader use's its battery while plugged into your phone even while idle.
Greg Little > Robert JohnsonNovember 16, 2015 at 10:21am
My reader will not allow the battery charging wire to be plugged in while in to my ipad case...so I have to remove it from the case to plug it in keep it charged while in use during the day. I have a small back up battery that works good for this but I don't like all the wires that always seem to get in the way.
I hope the new bluetooth reader solves some of these problems and holds a charge longer.
I've been using the $29.00 ready and have been able to charge it with my portable charger while it was plugged into my iPad mini. I just turned it a little to allow room for the cord to plug in and I actually ran charges like that. I'm waiting for the $49.00 one because it will allow apple pay and read the chips.
Greg Little > Laurie LeonardOctober 8, 2015 at 8:50pm
I have a heavy protective case for my ipad that prevents me from plugging in the cable to charge mine while plugged into the ipad. If I remove the ipad from the case both will plug in...but I am spoiled with the built in keyboard that the case has. I hope they start sending out the wireless readers soon...
I used the $29.00 chip reader at a show this weekend for the first time. On Saturday I left the reader plugged into my IPhone all day just as I always did with the old style reader. About 2/3 of the way through the day The reader stopped being recognized and would not work. I chalked that up to loss of battery charge. I had begun the day with a full charge. When I got home and charged the reader again, the phone connected to the reader just fine.
On Sunday I kept the reader unplugged unless I was actually making a sale. The reader performed fine all day. So I'm wondering if anyone else operates this way. Does the reader use up it's battery just by being connected and not in use? Anyone have thoughts?
Greg Little > David WoellerOctober 5, 2015 at 9:23am
I used my $29 reader last weekend and kept it plugged in all day with no problem until around 4:30 and then the battery pooped out. I had to finish the day using my old reader. I charged the new reader during the rest of the show with my back up charger. I guess that means we will have to accept financial responsibility for fraudulent charges when the battery drains...
I also had problems with the magnetic stripe reader on the new unit working properly. I had to swipe some cards 4 or 5 times before it worked. My old reader always worked on the first try when I had to use it after the other ones battery weakened. It was the same problem each day of the 3 day show.
It is really a design flaw that it cannot be charged while plugged into the ipad or phone because of where they placed the charging plug. I hope their Bluetooth one is more thought out for charging while in use
Replies
Square says the new wireless reader cost will be reimbursed through transactions processed during the first 90 days of use. By the time they finally ship it my busy fall season will be over and I will not have any scheduled shows until spring with transactions to offset the cost of the reader reimbursement.
I guess they planned it this way knowing that many artists do fewer shows during the first few months following the holiday season. I'm sure some people do shows during the January-March months...but most artists I talk to at shows agree ans say this is their time with the fewest scheduled shows.
I just checked my emails and I pre-ordered the new square Bluetooth reader on June 1. That is getting to be a long wait...
It is very easy for Square to determine when sales and usage are slow or very busy. You can log into your account and see graphs that show your usage for pretty much any time frame you want.
I doubt they planned it that way - plenty of non-artists use the Square and do you think they really know when artists are busy and not busy? Does Square even know I am an artist?
My reader will not allow the battery charging wire to be plugged in while in to my ipad case...so I have to remove it from the case to plug it in keep it charged while in use during the day. I have a small back up battery that works good for this but I don't like all the wires that always seem to get in the way.
I hope the new bluetooth reader solves some of these problems and holds a charge longer.
I've been using the $29.00 ready and have been able to charge it with my portable charger while it was plugged into my iPad mini. I just turned it a little to allow room for the cord to plug in and I actually ran charges like that. I'm waiting for the $49.00 one because it will allow apple pay and read the chips.
I used the $29.00 chip reader at a show this weekend for the first time. On Saturday I left the reader plugged into my IPhone all day just as I always did with the old style reader. About 2/3 of the way through the day The reader stopped being recognized and would not work. I chalked that up to loss of battery charge. I had begun the day with a full charge. When I got home and charged the reader again, the phone connected to the reader just fine.
On Sunday I kept the reader unplugged unless I was actually making a sale. The reader performed fine all day. So I'm wondering if anyone else operates this way. Does the reader use up it's battery just by being connected and not in use? Anyone have thoughts?
I used my $29 reader last weekend and kept it plugged in all day with no problem until around 4:30 and then the battery pooped out. I had to finish the day using my old reader. I charged the new reader during the rest of the show with my back up charger. I guess that means we will have to accept financial responsibility for fraudulent charges when the battery drains...
I also had problems with the magnetic stripe reader on the new unit working properly. I had to swipe some cards 4 or 5 times before it worked. My old reader always worked on the first try when I had to use it after the other ones battery weakened. It was the same problem each day of the 3 day show.
It is really a design flaw that it cannot be charged while plugged into the ipad or phone because of where they placed the charging plug. I hope their Bluetooth one is more thought out for charging while in use
Where did you guys pick up the 29.00 square chip card? Did you get it through square, target, etc?
Thanks,
Lou
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