- Highs: No monthly fee, competitive fixed transaction rate. Best free POS features. Online payments included.
- Lows: Customer support could be more responsive. PIN entry on mobile screen could be a hassle. Only accepts most popular card brands.
- Buy if: You want the smallest card reader and most comprehensive, free all-in-one payment system.
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Lowdown
Square – sometimes called Squareup – was the first company in the world to release a card reader used in conjunction with a mobile app. In 2017, Square Reader for chip and contactless cards arrived in the UK.
Square Reader connects with a phone or tablet via Bluetooth, processing payments through an accompanying app. It works with iPad, iPhone and Android tablets and smartphones.
Accepted cards
Contactless payments of up to £100 just require a tap against the square-shaped terminal. As for chip and PIN cards, the PIN is entered on the phone’s or tablet’s touchscreen since there is no keypad on the card reader.
The mobile app works as a complete POS system with functions helping you run any type of business from just your mobile device.
The card reader accepts the most popular debit and credit cards including Visa, Visa Electron, V Pay, Mastercard, Maestro and American Express. It also accepts the mobile wallets Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay.
Charges are simple and transparent
Square card reader fees are just a fixed rate of 1.75% per chip and PIN and contactless payment regardless of the card brand or whether it is premium or from abroad. Cash payments are free to process through the app. No additional or monthly fees are charged on top of that.
| Card payments | Fee |
|---|---|
| Monthly fee | None |
| Chip, contactless, swipe | 1.75% |
| Ecommerce, payment links | European cards: 1.9% Non-European cards: 2.9% |
| Key-in, invoice, virtual terminal | 2.5% |
| Instant Transfers | 1% in addition to card fee |
| Refunds | Free |
| Chargebacks | Free |
| Card payments |
Fee |
|---|---|
| Monthly fee | None |
| Chip, contactless, swipe | 1.75% |
| Ecommerce, payment links | European cards: 1.9% Non-European cards: 2.9% |
| Key-in, invoice, virtual terminal | 2.5% |
| Instant Transfers | 1% in addition to card fee |
| Refunds | Free |
| Chargebacks | Free |
All non-card reader payments are charged a higher rate. That is, keyed, virtual terminal and invoice payments cost 2.5% of the transaction amount (the keyed rate applies to both when the customer is and is not present).
Online payments through the online store, payment links and eGift Cards are 1.9% for European cards and 2.9% for non-European cards.
With Square, you don’t commit to a contract period, nor do you need to sell every month or have certain sales volumes to qualify for the card rates.
Nothing is charged for refunds or chargebacks, the latter being dealt with for free by a dedicated support team for payment disputes.
Payments are deposited in your bank account as soon as the next working day. This is automatic by default, but you can also set it to manual deposits if that simplifies bookkeeping.
Square also offers Instant Transfers, a setting that enables you to receive transactions within 20 minutes (may take up to two hours) – if your bank is a Direct Participant of Faster Payments. This costs an extra 1% of the transaction amount, i.e. a total of 2.75% for card reader payments. Note that merchants may not have access to this feature before they have a sufficient sales history in the Square account.
Square Reader costs £16 + VAT, and the optional Dock for charging and keeping the card reader in place costs £25 + VAT. The Square Stand, including Square Reader and Dock, is currently £89 + VAT (offer here). The latest all-in-one touchscreen terminal with attached card machine, Square Register, costs a total of £599 + VAT (offer here).
As for the Point of Sale app, features are free except for additional employee permissions costing £20 per month per location (Team Plus subscription) and most of the online store plans. Any third-party integrations are paid for separately through those other software platforms.
Square’s card machine with POS screen: Square Terminal reviewed
Square card reader specs
The crown jewel of Square’s offering is Square Reader, the pocketable card reader ideal for contactless payments especially, though it accepts chip cards too.
It is quite small at 66 x 66 x 10 mm and 56 g, but then you need the Square Point of Sale app on a mobile device with Bluetooth activated to use it.
Photo: Emily Sorensen (ES), Mobile Transaction
Square Reader is quite small.
When you buy Square Reader, you also get a tiny, complimentary swipe reader for magnetic stripe cards. This has a standard audio jack to plug in to your mobile device. It only works with overseas cards without a chip, so the swipe reader is more of a backup solution for American tourists mostly.
Square differs from other card readers in the UK because customers need to enter their PIN on the touchscreen of the phone or tablet rather than a physical PIN pad.
This is referred to as ‘PIN on COTS’ (PIN on consumer off-the-shelf devices), sometimes called ‘PIN on glass’ even though that is different.
Also, the Square card reader has no display, meaning the transaction amount and tipping options are displayed only in the app.
Photo: ES, Mobile Transaction
PIN entry happens in the Square Reader app on the smartphone or tablet screen.
Some have been concerned that inputting their PIN using software on a multi-use consumer device is not safe, but PIN on COTS is officially approved by the PCI Security Standards Council, so we do not see cause for concern for merchants or payers.
That said, we recommend positioning the mobile screen so it’s easy to shield the on-screen keypad during PIN entry, allowing customers to feel safe doing so.
Which is the best card reader in the UK?
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POS app features
The free Square Reader app called ‘Point of Sale’ is one of Square’s biggest draws. Out of all POS apps in the UK, it has the widest breadth of free features for managing sales and business operations from any compatible Android or Apple device.
Apart from accepting cards through the contactless/chip Square Reader and the magnetic stripe reader, you can manually enter card details, send invoices and accept cash. Create custom discounts, add tips and split the tender so customers can pay some of the transaction total with a card and the rest with cash. You can also sell gift cards (costs 1.9%–2.9%) sent via email, to be redeemed in your store.
The product inventory is great for tablets especially, as you can view a neat table of products, the layout of which can be customised. Each product can have a picture, description, types (e.g. red, black, pack of 2, pack of 5), different prices for each type, and stock levels.
Photo: ES, Mobile Transaction
Add products, apply discounts, view stock levels, and distinguish between product types.
To get the most out of Square’s tools, we suggest adding all the items you sell to the library before using the app. This enables you to track product popularity and differentiate between items when processing a refund. And of course, it makes it easier at checkout to just tap the product rather than manually entering each item or calculating a sales total, which are both possible as well.
You can also take advantage of the customer library where customer profiles can be added. This allows you to attach people to specific transactions, get customer feedback, track product preferences and manage sales more efficiently.
Businesses can add staff accounts with limited permissions in the app. Creating a user account for each employee enables time sheets so you can track hours and overtime worked.
Restaurants can upgrade to Square for Restaurants and retailers to Square for Retail, both with free and monthly subscriptions for features tailored to those industries. The Square Appointments scheduling system is also available for hairdressers, personal trainers and other professionals who need a booking system connected to payments.
Alternatively, Square Reader can integrate with an entirely different POS platform like Vend, Goodtill or TouchBistro.
Square Reader vs. Square Terminal
If a POS app on a mobile device is not for you, the card machine Square Terminal works independently. This is a touchscreen smart terminal with integrated POS features (similar to Square Point of Sale app) navigated directly on the card machine screen. It takes chip, contactless and swipe cards and accepts PIN codes on its touchscreen PIN pad, similar to how you would use a traditional card machine.
Given the large touchscreen and integrated software, Square Terminal is much bigger than Square Reader, like a conventional card machine. It also has a built-in receipt printer so you don’t need a separate one.
While Square Reader works with 3G, 4G and WiFi through a connected mobile device, Square Terminal only works with a secured WiFi connection. If you purchase a ‘Hub for Square Terminal’, the terminal can be connected to an Ethernet cable as well.
In other words, Square Reader is more suitable for on-the-go payments and Terminal best for a fixed location or area with a closed WiFi setup.
Photo: ES, Mobile Transaction
Square Terminal and Square Reader next to a pound coin.
Hardware and accessories
You can wirelessly connect Square Reader with compatible receipt printers, kitchen printers (for restaurants and similar), cash drawers and barcode scanners.
What other accessories are available? The Dock for Square Reader can be attached to a countertop and keeps the terminal charged all day.
Photo: Square
Square Dock keeps the Reader firmly attached to a countertop – and charged all day.
Square Stand for iPad enables you to swivel the tablet screen to face the customer who can then enter their PIN. In addition, the Square Stand has a swipe slot for magnetic stripe cards. However, the stand is only compatible with certain iPads. Square-branded equipment generally looks very Apple-inspired – sleek and minimalistic – so prioritising iPad compatibility is not so surprising.
Quite a few receipt printers work with the Square system, but some only work via Square Stand in which case you need to use iPad, not Android. Countertop printers that do not need Square Stand include Star Micronics TSP143 and TSP654 models and Epson TM-T88V, among others.
If you want a portable receipt printer, the Star Micronics SM-S230i and SM-T300i Bluetooth receipt printers will do. The compatible Star Micronics SP742ML kitchen printer can withstand heat, ideal for printing order tickets in hot restaurant kitchens.
Alternatively, you can bypass Square Reader or Terminal entirely and get the all-in-one POS device called Square Register. This comes with a purpose-built tablet screen where you can use Square’s POS software only, without the need for an Android tablet or iPad. A small touchscreen card machine is attached to it as well.
All Square merchants have free access to:
- Email invoices (with dedicated app)
- Payment links
- QR code payments
- Online ordering page
- Basic website builder
- Virtual terminal for telephone payments
- E-gift cards
Payment links and QR codes (Square Online Checkout) are accessed in the Point of Sale app or the Dashboard. Invoices can be sent from and managed in the Point of Sale app or through the dedicated Square Invoices app.
A free online ordering web page can be created and linked to a QR code to display in store for contact-free ordering. The ordering page is also ideal for click and collect, or you can create a complete online store with shipping or collection options at checkout through Square Online.
Image: Mobile Transaction
QR code/payment link in Point of Sale app.
Transactions over the phone or by mail order can be completed in the Square Virtual Terminal. From any desktop browser, you can log in to the Square account and go to the Virtual Terminal section where you key in a customer’s card and transaction details.
Reports and accounting
In any supported internet browser, you can log into your Square account and export data to Excel for accounting purposes. Because the system is cloud-based, the account is synced with shop activities in real time so you can always check in on how sales are going.
The POS app also shows transactions, payouts, amount of cash in the till drawer (if cash management is on) and sales reports you can email from the app.
Image: Mobile Transaction
Square Dashboard analytics give you an overview of sales from any web browser.
Square analytics are in-depth compared to similar card reader services. Square Dashboard provides an overview of key sales data, but many more analytics are accessed in the reports section. You can, among other things, analyse employee sales, taxes, product categories and product modifiers applied to sales.
For more complex accounting features, Square can integrate with Xero, Zoho Books or other supported software.
Planning to sell online? Learn more about Square Online
Who is it best for?
Square aims to suit every business type. Having tested the POS app, we can verify it’s especially useful in the retail and hospitality sectors – food-and-drink in particular – due to its comprehensive product library, checkout functions, tipping, analytics and staff management features.
Those selling at multiple locations can distinguish between sales at different locations. And let’s not forget the very small size of the card reader, which makes it the handiest for mobile payments at, for example, market stalls, home visits and conferences.
As with other payment companies, Square has a list of prohibited businesses. Some of these industries include pharmaceuticals,