Over 60,000 Small Businesses Now Take Credit Card Payments Through Square

The Square Reader is a tiny chip card reader that plugs into the headphone jack of any smartphone or tablet, allowing users to take credit card payments right from their own devices. It’s been on the Australian market for 12 months now — but in this time has built up a strong customer base of over 60,000 small businesses across the country, despite tough competition from CommBank’s own Albert POS device.

Created by Jack Dorsey’s company Square, the Square Reader was an innovative concept, allowing merchants to use their own devices to take payments with the addition of a comparatively tiny accessory. When a contactless version was released to keep up with market trends, the payment company only cemented its place in the roster of handy, cheap tools for creative small businesses.

After a year in operation, Square has revealed that over 60,000 Australian sellers have adopted the technology, with over 80 per cent of those businesses not accepting card payments before using Square.

Square isn’t stopping there, of course — in the last six months its developed eight new products including the aforementioned contactless payment device as well as products for invoicing, online marketplaces, and employee and location management. Its products are also available through a number of large Aussie retailers including Officeworks, Harvey Norman, Apple, Optus and Australia Post.