Square launches an Apple Pay-compatible NFC reader
Square has just made it easier for smaller businesses to offer Apple Pay as a payment option.
The mobile payments company, famous for bringing its Square Card Reader to merchants, has launched a new NFC reader that can be used alongside Apple Pay. The device is already installed in 100 local businesses in the United States, according to USA Today, and the move should further bolster Apple Pay’s rollout across the country. Usefully, the device (pictured below) can also accept regular, old fashioned chip cards, too.
In an email to USA Today, Jesse Dorogusker, head of hardware at Square, said:
Until now, technology like our new reader has been out of reach for local businesses. Now Square sellers across the country can quickly and easily accept the new forms of payment that are crossing their counter tops.
The device costs merchants just $49, and it’s available to reserve online, at Square’s website. It’s small, portable (thanks to a built-in battery), and it works inside the free point-of-sale Square iOS app, too. Orders also come with a free Square magstripe reader, and this allows users to swipe cards which don’t offer either chip or NFC.
Square’s NFC card reader.
Apple Pay is gradually expanding both in the United States and around the world. In Apple’s home country, more banks and retailers are adding support for the mobile payments service with each passing month. Square’s move should make Apple Pay available in a more diverse range of retailers, which is music to our ears.
For more information on Square’s NFC reader, click this link.
