Square begins taking preorders for new chip card readers for iPhone, iPad

As the U.S. credit card industry prepares for an upcoming switch to new cards with secure EMV chips, popular transaction provider Square is preparing to help retailers through the change, and is now accepting preorders for its new chip card-compatible readers.

Unlike the regular iPhone-compatible Square swipe accessory, which the company has made available for free, the new Square Reader for chip cards costs $29.

Another change: The new Square Reader requires charging. The accessory includes a micro USB port, so that retailers will be able to recharge the device and accept credit cards on the go. Square has said the new $29 reader "features the most powerful battery of its kind."

The reader includes a new slot where merchants can "dip" an EMV-compatible card, leaving it in place for the entire sale. The new secure method replaces the legacy, traditional method of swiping a card, though the new Square Reader also includes a magnetic strip reader for legacy support.

In addition, Square is also taking preorders for a new "Chip Card Accessory" for the Square Stand. The $39 accessory connects to the iPad stand with an included USB hardware hub.

A top-loading slot allows merchants to insert a customer's credit card and securely initiate a transaction. The EMV card reader pairs with the iPad in the stand and its accompanying legacy magnetic stripe reader. The standalone Square Stand sells for $99.

Both the Square Reader for chip cards and the Square Stand Chip Card Accessory are available for preorder now and are scheduled to ship in spring of 2015. That's well ahead of the October 2015 EMV mandate adopted by U.S. payment networks.

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23 Comments

nagromme

said about 9 years ago

NFC? ApplePay?

robm

said about 9 years ago

Those are very friendly prices for pos transaction devices. Good job Square !

rob53

said about 9 years ago

Quote:

Originally Posted by nagromme

NFC? ApplePay?

Don't need an external NFC reader since NFC is included in the new iPads and it might work on the iPhone6's the same way. This doesn't address older iPads but the nice thing about the new iPad Air 2 is that it's ready to use as a point of sale (POS) device for NFC transactions. Square would simply need to add the NFC component to their software and I'm sure they will be doing that.

paxman

said about 9 years ago

Chip cards? A decade late, but you know... welcome.

solipsismy

said about 9 years ago

[quote name="nagromme" url="/t/183385/square-begins-taking-preorders-for-new-chip-card-readers-for-iphone-ipad#post_2638432"]NFC? ApplePay?[/quote] I see no evidence of NFC of support, which therefore mean no ?Pay or GoogleWallet support. [quote name="rob53" url="/t/183385/square-begins-taking-preorders-for-new-chip-card-readers-for-iphone-ipad#post_2638436"]Don't need an external NFC reader since NFC is included in the new iPads and it might work on the iPhone6's the same way. This doesn't address older iPads but the nice thing about the new iPad Air 2 is that it's ready to use as a point of sale (POS) device for NFC transactions. Square would simply need to add the NFC component to their software and I'm sure they will be doing that. [/quote] It doesn't need it. The NFC chip in the iPad is apparently only there of the Secure element aspect of storing your cards for paying viq compatible App Store apps with Touch ID. There are also no NFC antennas for traditional NFC to work on the iPad. If Square doesn't support all the elements for taking NFC payments then it's not going to be a feature.

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