Phone needed?

[Tangowhisky]

I can’t work out, and Square Customer Service won’t respond, do you need to have a smart phone with any of the POS machines or do they have a sim integrated? This is important to me as I don’t want to have to leave my phone on my stall every time I go walkabout at the shows I sell at.

[Sam_400º · Accepted solution]

Hey @Tangowhisky - there are a few different hardware options but they’ll all need some sort of internet connection. 

the standard square reader connects to your phone for the pos app and uses its data connection.

the terminal is a stand alone device that has the reader, pos and a receipt promoter built in. This will need to connect to a Wi-Fi connection to take payments (or piggy back on your phone).

[Tangowhisky]

Thanks for your help, you’ve been more helpful than customer services. Sadly this makes Square a no go for me. Time to check out the second company recommended to me by my bank, MyPOS. 

[doc_choc]

Hi @Tangowhisky I believe Square customer service are open Mon to Fri, probably reopening on Tuesday due to the bank hols. I think you will find the same issues with Mypos, requiring some kind of internet connectivity ie through a Wi-Fi of mobile phone connection. What I would say is there are some payment hardware providers out there that will provide systems with there own SIM card inbuilt. You might want to check the fees and monthly charges associated, do the calculations as you may find it more cost effective to buy a smartphone and go with Square or similar type systems. Good luck. 

[Tangowhisky]

Thanks Phillipsrw, this has been ongoing for a while now and still no feedback from customer services. I have now checked out the MyPOS position. Their machine has inbuilt sim card, outright purchase of the machine is £39, no monthly fees, transaction fees are 1.1% +7p. Tyl are £75 for outright purchase and then 1.5% per transaction including Amex. So far these are the only two alternatives I have found though allegedly Barclays also do one but I have yet to check.

[doc_choc]

Have to say it looks like an interesting deal. Certainly more competitive than I thought they would be. Guess there is a more competitive landscape these days and a lot more services on the market. Lathe best with you new system and business, hope the current environment picks up for us all. 🤞