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Square Launches in Aus. 1.9% CC Fee Including AmEx. First $1000 Fee Free Processing With Referral

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Square Launches in Aus. 1.9% CC Fee Including AmEx. First $1000 Fee Free Processing With Referral
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NotAMoodle on 14/04/2016 - 06:08 squareup.com (1726 clicks)
Last edited 24/06/2017 - 02:11 by 3 other users

Square has finally arrived in Australia!

Square is a payment processor that accepts consumer credit cards and allows small businesses and independent sellers – and potentially those who wouldn’t have accepted a credit card before, to accept cards and easily facilitate cashless transactions – including American Express cards (so higher airline points earn), alongside Visa and MasterCard, all at only 1.9% CC fee.

Square is useful, and simple, for any small trader or seller to allow card-based transactions in person or online, so if you’ve ever wished you could accept a credit card for your market stall, Gumtree, garage sale or small invoiced-transactions, then it’s probably worth considering. Especially with the fact it accepts Amex at the same rate as a Visa.

It's free to join and a credit card reader compatible with your phone (iOS & Android) is sold separately for $19 shipped. See here https://squareup.com/au/reader - even without the reader you can start accepting credit card payments.

When compared to Paypal which charges 1.95% per transaction plus $169 for their card reader, this is very good news for all mobile or small businesses out there.

On top of this, when you sign up through a referral link, you will receive $1000 of fee free transactions, meaning you will not be charged anything for the first $1000 you sell within 180 days! See terms

Referral Links

Referral: random (51)

Referrer and referree get $1000 fee-free transactions for 180 days.

Financial

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Comments

  • stickyfingers on 14/04/2016 - 09:25

    Seriously, they're charging for the reader that AFAIK the US get for free?

    • MITM on 18/04/2016 - 06:25

      Seems USA pay 2.75%.

      Whereas $1000 of free transactions @ 1.9% = $19 so effectively free reader if you do the sales within 6 months.

      No Australia Tax with this promotion.

      • stickyfingers on 18/04/2016 - 12:28

        Good point, didn't notice that.

  • T-man on 14/04/2016 - 09:27
    +1

    I managed to negotiate the fees with Stripe at 1% + $0.3 for Visa and Master and 1.85% for Amex.

    I am not sure if Square is negotiable the fees for high transaction volume. Also, Square is not integrated and supported by major shopping carts, so we have to wait until they support Square to accept online payments

    • Pigey on 14/04/2016 - 09:42

      Hi divious

      How did you negotiate the fee down? Can I ask what type of volumes you are doing?

      I hear Stripe isn't that great if fraudulent transactions are made.

      • T-man on 14/04/2016 - 09:59
        +1

        Hi Pigey, you just need to contact Stripe sale team https://stripe.com/contact/sales

        and tell them that you processed more than $40,000 per month and show them the invoices (in my case, it's eWAY and First Data)

        Then, they will adjust the percentage of the fees on your Stripe account. I only accept online payments as my business in online-based.

        I have no any fraudulent transactions with Stripe so far. It's secure like PayPal; I used to have many with eWAY.

  • R1ngSt1nger on 14/04/2016 - 09:36

    Just signed up and processed my first $1.00 payment from my own credit card. Worked a treat.

    • tunzafun001 on 15/04/2016 - 18:17

      Just 999 more and you got yourself some freebie reward/ FF points my friend…Ozbargain Level = Platinum!

  • coolhand on 14/04/2016 - 09:48

    I think square still charge the 1.9% for savings transactions too where as many alternatives won't. Something to consider for those with high debit card volume

  • teasatotalling on 14/04/2016 - 09:58
    -2

    This is free in the USA

    • EightImmortals on 14/04/2016 - 10:06
      +1

      But this Australia where we get to pay through the nose for everything. It's what makes us the 'lucky' country.

  • Temptation on 14/04/2016 - 10:07
    +2

    Thanks OP, Used your referral. Hope you too enjoy your benefits you are getting, as for me as well

    Cheers

    • NotAMoodle on 14/04/2016 - 16:45

      Cheers mate, as with anything new coming to Australia there may be some bugs, as others have mentioned I don't think they have our GST intergration quite right yet, but so far so good. I'ev charged money and got money into my account, so the system works.

  • kwalikum on 14/04/2016 - 10:29

    "We do not currently support your selected business type for payment processing."

    Boo.

    • NotAMoodle on 14/04/2016 - 16:45
      +1

      Lol what did you say out of interest?

  • dsp26 on 14/04/2016 - 10:29

    Dammit.. I signed up the night before, would've been awesome to have someones referral

  • dsp26 on 14/04/2016 - 10:30
    +2

    Anyways… I asked about the Square Stand and NFC reader yesterday about compatibility in Australia in case anyone tries to order overseas:

    Hi there,

    Thank you for your email.

    At this time, Square Contactless and Square Stand is not available in Australia. We don’t have a specific timeframe for when or if that is launching in Australia. Even if you purchase it from websites such as Amazon, it will not work due to difference in regulations.

    For a list of compatible hardware, please visit our Support Centre.

    If the hardware is not listed in our Support Centre, we cannot guarantee the compatibility.

    If you have any additional questions, please feel free to email back or call us at 1800 760 137, Monday through Friday, 9am-5pm Melbourne Time.

    Khristine
    Square Support - Australia​
    squareup.com/help

    • NotAMoodle on 14/04/2016 - 16:47

      Cheers for the info, I wonder which Aussie regulations stop NFC ?? The same ones that are stopping Apple Pay from being 100% intergrated in Australia perhaps?

      Just a couple of regulations to regulate the regulations in Australia isn't there.

  • dsp26 on 14/04/2016 - 10:31

    What I want to know is, will any other Bluetooth thermal printers work (like the $85 eBay ones) on iOS since the supported Star Micron models cost a fortune.

    • dsp26 on 14/04/2016 - 11:10
      +1

      OK.. so i've enquired with a few eBay stores regarding printer. I'm thinking this particular model for iOS bluetooth:
      http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Mini-58mm-Bluetooth-Wireless-Pock…

      If I don't receive a reply I'll bite the bullet and test. From the ones in the sub $100 range this is the only one that can receive ESC/POS/STAR instruction sets. The other eBay ones are only ESC/POS… and the basic SM-220i Star Micron printer is like $500+ and has ESC/POS/STAR instruction

  • ycon on 14/04/2016 - 10:34
    +1

    FYI- $19 for the card reader.

  • swings on 14/04/2016 - 10:36

    anyone has experience for restaurant\retail use?
    we are shopping around for what payment system to go.

    and since we plan to bring business online too would be nice a solution covering both

    • aam on 14/04/2016 - 14:32
      +2

      Hi swings, we are a member of the restaurant & catering association & therefore get volume discounts from Westpac for our merchant terminals in the restaurants. We were using Paypal for our online payments, but moved to Pin Payments for all our online transactions. Their rates are better than Paypal & their support has been excellent so far. We use Obee for our booking system, so Pin integrates with Obee to take deposits etc. for events, automatically updating the bookings diary. Please feel free to pm me for any specifics.

      • swings on 14/04/2016 - 16:02

        Hi amm, thanks, great info,

        was just checking the association website and says COMMONWEALTH BANK AUSTRALIA not Westpack, confirm me?

        we are going to open in a couple of months so trying to get everything sorted by then.

        • aam on 15/04/2016 - 09:58
          +1

          They used to have a relationship with Westpac before when we joined. I believe they have changed to Commonwealth Bank now. But Westpac still offers the same discounts for members of the RCA, so worth calling them & checking rates with them. I did a compare a couple of years ago & Westpac still came out on top, so we stuck with them. For online payments, Pin seemed the best, but keeping my eyes open for better options. There is no contract, so easy to move.

    • NotAMoodle on 14/04/2016 - 16:48
      +1

      I don't think this is quite aimed at the restaurant market yet mate, still aimed at smaller volumes. Keep an eye on it though once they get their NFC readers approved etc it could definitely help your business!

      • swings on 15/04/2016 - 10:59

        Thanks, yes always good keep an eye on the new ones.

  • cureforanitch on 14/04/2016 - 10:57

    What's stopping me paying myself using a credit card, and then using that cash to pay for all my non credit card chargeable items (rent, mortgage etc..). 1.9% fee but I'll get all the points on the credit card

    • neil aus on 15/04/2016 - 23:14

      You would be breaching the t%c's. Square may stop and refund your transactions. Also, you'd be getting points but paying way too much for them, read above.

  • cureforanitch on 14/04/2016 - 10:59

    What's stopping me paying myself using a credit card, and then using that cash to pay for all my non credit card chargeable items (rent, mortgage etc..). 1.9% fee but I'll get all the points on the credit card

    • Mr Asobi on 14/04/2016 - 11:43

      Good idea! … if you've got a card that gives you 3 points per dollar for general spend.

      Any less than that then it would be too expensive, would it not?

      • [Deactivated] on 14/04/2016 - 20:53

        Even at 3 points per dollar for the top CBA Amex, the % you get back is about 1.5% in dollar terms at most (There used to be a 'trick' to effectively get about 1.7% by making co-payments for things like gift cards, but they fixed it recently :\ ). So at 1.9% you would be losing 0.4%, with the added inconvenience of turning cash into something less useful. Maybe there are better cards, but probably not by much.

    • T-man on 14/04/2016 - 12:19
      +2

      I believe that the money you receive is taxable. You have to prepare to answer the questions from ATO when they call you.

    • SaberX on 14/04/2016 - 15:43

      whenever a place wants to chuck on 1,2% surcharges onto my amex i don't bother. It's pretty easy to discourage the use of them, or in this case your suggested work around , because most wont get points worth paying 1.9% extra on. Fine if its a customer and you're not wearing the cost. unless there was some sort of promotion where maybe you needed to spend $500 int he first 3 months to get xxxx first time signup points, then yeah you'd be spending money to yourself and paying 1.9% for the privilege of the points..

  • SaberX on 14/04/2016 - 11:46
    +1

    Has anyone thought about using this on a private level? I.e. your everyday person looking to offer tutoring services and other day to day cash jobs (normally) that you do on the ad hoc - this would just be a cool way to alternatively receive payment? Or is it not worth it?

    I've seen square twice - once in philadelphia when i stopped in for an overnight trip and the coffee store had it - it hought it was pretty damn cool seeing this little square thing that anyone could get to process cards. And again I saw it in Japan - up in Hakuba of all places last month - i was eating ramen and the store guy used it to process payment. I can't remmeber entering my pin for my 28 degrees card, does it perhaps not need a pin as it was under $100 - does that rule still apply to square? And if it does need a pin you need to type it in on their mobile phone do you?

    • EightImmortals on 14/04/2016 - 11:58

      That would be the perfect use for it, just the odd payment here and there as you are not paying monthly fees, just the 1.9% per transaction. So if you did say tutoring for $60 per hour you'd be paying $1.14 per transaction but if having the facility gets you more clients it would probably be worth it.

      • SaberX on 14/04/2016 - 15:44

        hmm and all you need is the $19 paid card reader, to order one and hook up your account details and wahtever money they collect youc an opt to send/claim it out of square back?

        Sounds like a good idea. Don't have a tutoring gig going up but always wondered how i could use my brain to earn some more moolah. Only would work for adults or some uni students though, because most students without paying parents, woudln't come with a credit card :(

        • NotAMoodle on 14/04/2016 - 16:49

          Great idea, and you don't need the card reader to accept the payment - the client/friend/cash customer can enter the card into the app with you standing there. No CC details are stored.

        • SaberX on 14/04/2016 - 19:21

          @dazzywazzy:

          hmm so your saying square can be used to accept payment like any other website - by just adding the credit card details into the app for payment?? So the card reader is just if you want physical swiping?

          Some may be more comfortable with that i assume than typing their credit card detials into someones phone/app - becuas enot everyone will know square or how safe it is unfortunately.

        • NotAMoodle on 14/04/2016 - 23:43

          @SaberX: Correct mate, there are two options when you load the app, swipe or manual. You just click manual and enter it in and let the magic happen.

  • richardk8 on 14/04/2016 - 13:29

    I currently use Square Register in my store, it is free and does all the basic things good enough. I considered using Square payments as well, but it is more expensive than other providers. For example CBA charges 1.5%, I have got AMEX for 1.95%.

    • SaberX on 14/04/2016 - 19:22

      is square register a different product to square - but same developers?

      • richardk8 on 19/04/2016 - 13:07

        Yea. Square register is a point of sale app. You can add your products, scan them and print receipts from it. It also has square payments directly integrated.

  • Chumpmaster on 14/04/2016 - 14:09

    Read the fin review that CBA made a decision to block their cards ability to be processed by the Square readers, on the grounds of fraud. Not sure if that's still the case.

  • michaelj08 on 14/04/2016 - 14:10

    I had issues signing up with this company a few weeks back. My ID couldn't be verified and was advised to ring up Veda. Veda said they've had quite a few people calling about this and the company needed to fix it's website. I rang back Square to notify them of this and cancel my order but they said too late it's already been sent. Only a few minutes after they said they need verification. I wouldn't trust this company with my money.

    • NotAMoodle on 14/04/2016 - 16:23
      +1

      I know of 9 people including myself who haven't had an issue and have been charging and receiving money no issues.

    • NotAMoodle on 14/04/2016 - 16:27

      Are you certain you entered your details correctly and VEDA were the ones who caused the issue? I'm very sorry to hear your bad experience, so far in the forums online the support gets good reviews, and appears to be Aussie based support centre, which is nice.

      • michaelj08 on 14/04/2016 - 16:46

        I actually found the VEDA consultant very helpful and he provided a frank assessment of them. Square on the other hand lied to me when I passed on Veda's response and said not to worry about verifying my order.

        I hate to neg as I do still think it's a good thing that PayPal has a bit of competition. But I can only go on how I found them to deal with.

        • NotAMoodle on 14/04/2016 - 16:50

          Interesting for sure, I'll be removing the deal if any such issues occur, but with the amount of clicks on the deal I'm sure the OzB community will let us know of any issues!

    • T-man on 15/04/2016 - 00:22

      Count me in, couldn't verify my ID. I had no problem with the banks and Veda.

  • flatwhitepls on 14/04/2016 - 16:32

    MYOB Paydirect's offers cheaper rate 1.77% for cc $0.27per trasaction for eftpos. However card machine is $247 and might be a better saving in the long run.

    • burningrage on 14/04/2016 - 16:36
      +1

      Maybe… just maybe because of Square, they might drop the price and hopefully so would Paypal Here NFC as well.

    • SaberX on 14/04/2016 - 19:23

      Wait, so can you use normal saving/eftpos cards in square to accept payment by eftpos (and not credit card) in that sense too? or is that just with the MYOB product you mentioned?

    • squeeb on 16/04/2016 - 09:33

      MYOB looks good too.

      Do you know if transaction and card details can be entered manually in the app? Thereby not requiring the purchase of the expensive card reader.

  • proudwanderer on 14/04/2016 - 16:40

    Does anyone know if you can ditch PayPal and choose to use Square on eBay instead - or does eBay force you to use PayPal?

  • SaberX on 14/04/2016 - 19:24

    Silly question i am sure, but as a small fish, can one just get this for the novelty of being able to charge back friends for the cost of say meals? It's $19 but then are there any ongoing fees for life, or is it jsut the once off $19 outlay and the 1.9% value of any card used?

    Becuase if so you could use it as a nifty way of getting credit card payments from friends for 'chip in' scenarios i.e. paying four sports court hire, paying for dinner etc.

    The only unfortunate thing will be a 1.9% surcharge unfortunately :( which some cheaper individuals won't wanna pay?

    • [Deactivated] on 14/04/2016 - 20:39

      Assuming you have any level of trust with your friends at all, a bank transfer from their bank can usually be done from their phone for free, no need to carry a reader around with you or for them to pay 1.9% extra.

    • NotAMoodle on 14/04/2016 - 23:46

      No to discredit Bargs comment, but yes mate, it's $19 once of for life. You also get your first $1000 fee free also so you wouldn't have to charge them 1.9% extra until that ran out. You have 180 days to use this $1000, or simply get someone to sign up and activate under your referral link. The person that signs up under your referral link doesn't actually have to use it, they just have to sign up and activate, and you get another $1000 of fee free credit.

      Also - if it was just for your friends, you don't need a card reader as you can hand them your phone and they will enter their card directly into the app and it will process instantly.

      You will get your money into your account (bank) the same time as a direct debit, and friends can use their Amex and get the points at no extra surcharge.

      Win/Win

      • SaberX on 15/04/2016 - 16:08

        Yeap , good point - onl yissue is the 180 days to use the $1000 free credit. Given most including myself don't eat out that often one would probably not use it enough, so assuming you will get slugged 1.9% for accepting their credit card? Maybe not the best for receiving payment from everyone, but can we sign up for square without giving detials, to get the app so people can just pay via the app (and don't buy the card reader) on the off chance people want to pay that way?

        • NotAMoodle on 15/04/2016 - 23:36

          I don't believe you can pay App to App mate like paypal, but I could be wrong. I guess you just need 1 sign up every 180 days. Depending on how many friends and family you have, this should get you through a few years :)

  • Timfoo on 14/04/2016 - 19:26

    I signed up 3 days ago is it to late to say I was referred?

  • BewareOfThe Dog on 01/07/2016 - 19:43

    I saw it today at Harvey Norman.

  • coolsteps on 15/01/2017 - 13:17

    got the paywave device for $59 but dont really need it as you can enter card numbers manually on the phone. can you sell device once its been registered or not and will it work with other square accounts?

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