Square review: mobile card reader big on payments features

No monthly fees or contract. Free delivery in 3-5 working days.

Accepted cards

Contactless payments of up to £100 just require a tap against the square-shaped card machine. As for chip and PIN cards, the PIN is entered on the phone’s or tablet’s touchscreen.

The app works as a complete POS system that helps 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.

Square fees are simple and transparent

Square card processing 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.

Remote or online 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 1.4% + 25p for UK-issued cards and 2.5% + 25p for all non-domestic 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 face-to-face 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 £19 + VAT, and the optional Dock for charging and keeping the card reader in place costs £25 + VAT. The Square Stand, with a built-in card reader, is currently £99 + VAT. The all-in-one touchscreen register 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.

Some have been concerned that inputting their PIN using software on a multi-use commercial 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.

Square app

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 and chip reader, you can manually enter card details, send invoices and accept cash, as well as create custom discounts, add tips and split the tender so customers can pay some of the transaction with a card and the rest with cash. You can also sell gift cards (costs 1.4% + 25p–2.5% + 25p) 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.

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.

Alternatives to Square

So how does Square compare to other card readers and market leaders in the UK? Its closest competitors are SumUp and Zettle that, like Square, have pay-as-you-go fees without a monthly charge or lock-in.

Zettle Reader is arguably the best-known card reader on the market, partly because of its ergonomic design and push-button PIN pad. Popular SumUp Air also has a PIN pad, but it is made of flat, touch-sensitive glass that is easy to wipe. Square Reader is nevertheless the smallest of them all and comes with the most comprehensive free POS app.

As for standalone card machines, Zettle Terminal is the smallest with (simple) POS software built in – but it is pricier than Square Terminal if you opt for the model with a receipt printer or barcode scanner. That said, Square Terminal only works with WiFi so cannot be used on the go through a mobile network. SumUp 3G and Solo are cheaper than either of these card machines, but too basic for some merchants.

If you’re planning to sell online or over the phone without a subscription, Square trumps the alternatives. We have simply not seen a better virtual terminal or payment link features more extensive than Square’s at no monthly cost. You also get a free online store, QR codes and keyed card entry in the app.

Hardware and accessories

You can wirelessly connect Square’s card reader with compatible receipt printers, kitchen printers (for restaurants), cash drawers and barcode scanners.

What other accessories are available? The Dock for Square Reader can be attached to a countertop and keeps the reader 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 chip card slot and NFC for contactless payments so you don’t need a separate card reader. 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 unsurprising.

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.

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.

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, adult products and services, certain marketing services, certain financial services, and illegal or otherwise questionable products and services.

Customer support, reviews and complaints

Square is available to phone or email between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday. There is no weekend or evening support, which is fine if the system works, but not so good if you need support at night in a bar, for example.

The majority of Square reviews are positive, but there is also a thread of negative user reviews in the UK. The main complaints are about unresponsive customer service, account verification issues and in some rare cases, withheld payments.

It appears that if you do get an issue to resolve, it can be difficult to get through to customer support on the phone and even online. Email replies are slow, and urgent issues are not always dealt with promptly.

That said, the online resource section is comprehensive, with guides and articles covering many aspects of the products and features. Most merchants will be able to find an answer there, so you may not need to contact support.

Some users report having their account rejected out of the blue (even after they’ve started selling), but it appears many of them are types of businesses deemed as high risk. We strongly recommend reading the fine print of what trades Square does not allow to avoid having payments suddenly rejected.

Getting started

Before purchasing a card machine, you need to sign up for a Square account and connect your bank account. It typically takes four days to have a bank account verified, but you can still take payments before the verification is finalised. After completing the straightforward sign-up form, you can order the card reader.

If you’re not buying the card reader on Square’s website where it is cheapest at £19 + VAT with free delivery, you can purchase it from Argos, Currys or Amazon. EE and BT sometimes offer a free Square card reader to their business customers. In any case, sign up online via Square first as you won’t be able to use it without an approved account.

We connected a personal bank account with a history of receiving sole trader income, and this was verified after four days. To be accepted, Square requires that the bank account allows for both deposits and withdrawals to support the refund and chargeback system. Online-only accounts like PayPal are not supported, nor are prepaid card accounts. Furthermore, your bank account must operate in GBP.

Photo: ES, Mobile Transaction

Our card reader arrived two days after ordering it online.

Ordering the Square Reader went smoothly and postage was free. We received it two days after purchase via DPD. Prior to delivery, we received text notifications stating when it’ll arrive, to pick a specific time (from a selection of hours) with the option to request leaving it at the neighbour’s if needed. The parcel was wrapped up well – all in all a positive experience.

When the Square account is set up, it’s time to download the Square Point of Sale app on your smartphone or tablet and log in. The card reader can then be connected to your mobile device via Bluetooth, and you’re ready to take your first payment.

Our verdict

If value for money is key to your choice of card reader, Square is one of the leading options in the UK. It has the most free features for the price of a cheap card reader and fixed transaction rate (or you can even just use the app or online payment features without buying a card reader).

A big advantage of Square is the many online payment tools available without a monthly fee, which makes any Square merchant more resilient in the face of lockdowns and unpredictable business conditions.

Moreover, growing businesses can use Square in conjunction with external software for e.g. inventory, scheduling, marketing and much more, so you are never really limited if more advanced functions are required.

The pay-as-you-go structure with no contractual commitment makes it a good place to start at a low startup cost.