Square’s New Reader Accepts EMV Chip Cards (Nov. 12, 2014)
Square, considered by many to be a trailblazer in the arena of mobile card readers that plug into smartphones, today has announced the San Francisco-based company is accepting pre-orders from U.S. merchants on a new Square reader that accepts EMV chip cards. The reader, which sells for $29, was first announced last summer.
“We’ve simplified the traditional cumbersome, power-hungry EMV terminal that costs sellers hundreds of dollars and requires complicated contracts,” said Jesse Dorogusker, head of hardware at Square. The new reader is still small enough to fit into a pocket and works with iPhone, iPad and Android devices; accepts chip and mag stripe cards; encrypts payment card information when the card is swiped or inserted; and there are no long-term contracts.
For Square’s brick-and-mortar sellers, the company also is accepting preorders on a $39 accessory that reads chip cards and plugs into the USB port of the Square Stand, which turns an iPad into a POS device. Both devices are scheduled to ship Spring 2015.
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