Received my new Square swiper and thought I'd inform folks about it. In case you've been under a rock for a while credit cards with the EMV embedded chip require a new swiper for which Square will charge you $29. Not too bad considering all the free ones they gave to us.
The new swiper has two slots and is quite a bit fatter. The top slot accepts the EMV embedded cards while the bottom slot is for traditional swiping. Just plug the card into the top slot and don't remove it till the transaction is totally complete! Easy peasy!
The hardest part about the new card is remembering to charge it. Unlike the old swiper you have to charge this one with a USB/mini plug cable. The first time I used it, after charging it I thought it would take the charge off my iPad. Nope! So, the next day I'm swiping madly away and it's not working, no EMV charges no regular swipes, etc. Finally, at the end of the day, the light bulb goes off in my head, hey! Charge it! Wha-lah, like magic, it's working again. I later discovered that when you plug it in and it initializes its connection it shows a battery charge icon indicating the strength of its charge!
Good luck and happy charging!
Post Scribble: I've had the swiper plugged into my iPad since 9 am it is now 4pm and I got an alert when I unplugged it and plugged it back in that it has no charge! Believe me, it wasn't because I was madly swiping away at the Rio Grande, Albuquerque show this weekend. (But that, is another story). Glad I have my little portable Mophie power supply!
