New technology provides sellers with more flexibility at checkout and an easy onramp to Square ecosystem.
Sellers can begin testing the Square integration of Tap to Pay on iPhone through the Early Access Program this summer.
Square announced today that it is working with Apple to enable Tap to Pay on iPhone, Apple’s contactless payment acceptance capability, within the Square Point of Sale app. The new offering enables sellers of all sizes to seamlessly and securely accept in-person contactless payments with only an iPhone and Square’s industry leading POS app. Ahead of publicly launching the service later this year, Square also announced an Early Access Program for Tap to Pay on iPhone, allowing select sellers to begin testing the new technology.
Tap to Pay on iPhone provides sellers with a simple solution to accept contactless payments with no additional hardware, and integrates with Square’s broader ecosystem of tools built to help them start, run, and grow their business. Using just the Square POS app and an iPhone, sellers will be able to seamlessly and securely take contactless payments with Tap to Pay on iPhone. This builds on Square’s powerful software which helps sellers drive more business with marketing and loyalty programs; easily track and manage product inventory; and even simplify their cash flow with business banking tools that provide them instant access to their Square sales.
“As a seasonal business that’s always on the move, it’s important to have an easy-to-use, reliable mobile option for taking payments,” said Teddy Rojas, owner of Kona Ice Vacaville, an early participant in Square’s Early Access Program. “Square and Apple are making it really convenient to make sure we never miss a sale. With Tap to Pay on iPhone, I can process contactless payments quickly, even on cellular service, and it provides a really straightforward experience so new staff can easily get up and running on taking payments on an iPhone.”
The in-person payments landscape continues to evolve, driven by buyer preferences for contactless payments and encouraged by an industry-wide migration towards more secure payments enabled by NFC technology. Since democratizing card acceptance more than a decade ago, Square has remained committed to lowering the barrier to entry for new entrepreneurs while ensuring sellers can continue to meet their business and customers’ needs with innovative products.
With Tap to Pay on iPhone, sellers gain more flexibility to unlock new commerce experiences and help ensure they never miss a sale, whether that involves empowering staff to line bust in retail environments for faster checkouts, or equipping professional services workers to take contactless payments on the go. Customers get the convenience of using contactless credit or debit cards, as well as digital wallets such as Apple Pay, to make seamless and secure purchases wherever they shop.
“Square’s purpose is rooted in economic empowerment, which is why we’ve always offered a free way for businesses to get started using our services,” said David Talach, Head of Financial Services at Square. “Bringing Tap to Pay on iPhone into the Square ecosystem ensures that new sellers will have another free option to get up and running, while providing businesses of any complexity with more flexibility to adapt their commerce experiences to evolving consumer preferences and changing industry trends.”
Space in Square’s Early Access Program for Tap to Pay on iPhone is limited. Square sellers and new merchants interested in learning about Square’s Early Access Program for Tap to Pay on iPhone can visit squareup.com/get/tap-to-pay for more information.
I DEFINITELY want to be a part of this. I am super excited for this, and was thinking of even switching to Stripe, but now, I am glad I can stay with Square, this feature will be a game changer for me, as I would go from 100% typing cards in to only 1% typing cards in, because I never charge my Square reader up haha.
Hi @Redlight2015 , I've DM'd you! Please check your inbox.
Count us in! My Square reader (tap or insert version) is notorious for A) Not being charged and B) (Most Frustrating) Not connecting to my phone at the time that I need a client in my vehicles to pay. Then, I have to sit there and manually type cards in; even though the reader is right THERE.
@LandJetting If the reader does not connect to the phone (Happens when you do not use it for a long time) In the Square App Go to settings > hardware > Square Card Readers Click on the reader and click forget this reader. Then do the same on you phone in the Bluetooth settings and for get the reader there. The back to set one and click connect a reader and press the button on the reader until it blinks orange, the click Pair on your phone.
I do that in the morning before I go out and it takes under 2 minutes to do.
René
Thank you, very much!
@GourmetOnWheels made a good suggestion, but there is one easier than that. Simply go to settings, then bluetooth, and then just reconnect to the reader. You don't have to forget. It happens on my iPad Pro 12.9 all the time. Once you switch back to Square it'll reconnect after a few seconds.
@PerroneTech yes that works too, but it is my experience the card reader stays connected longer after a long period of not been connected by doing the slightly longer steps.
René
Even better 🙂
@Ryan_M is the test option full? I sign up and the pages stays the same
And hovering over the submit button I get this sign 🚫
René
Hi @GourmetOnWheels , I've DM'd you! If you have any other questions, feel free to DM me.
I have the same issue - filled all out and looks like Submit works, but then goes back to un-filled form. Did I actually submit my request - there was NO acknowledgement.
Hi @DmitriK if your submission was successful, you should have received an automated email from our system indicating that we have received it. Please do not try to submit again, as our system blocks duplicate entries.
This is HUGE! Now every employee in the store will be able to checkout customers with just their iPhone, no additional hardware necessary. This will allow us to create opportunities for unique and enhanced experiences for customers, such as having an employees walk around with customers and checkout as they go.
Super amazing idea for overflow!!
Not really a good idea unless you plan on investing a ton in of money on every single employee supplying iPhones. As anyone other business owner I’ve invested to much for an employee who has there own iPhone and the App Store. It’s just not smart planning.
Depends on what's best for your business, we had planned & budgeted for providing iPhones to every employee while they were on shift as we have other software written specifically for our business that was optimized for iPhones ... this just sweetens the deal for us.
Why just iPhones? Doesn't android have NFC phones?
Hi @Aplus11 , I'm unable to speak to the development efforts for a similar feature on Android phones, but please know that this is something that we haven't forgotten about! The technology for a feature like this is pretty different on iPhones vs Android phones.
Cool to see continued effort building the tools for sellers to capture payments the way buyers want to give them.
This is very exciting news!! Looking forward to trying this feature
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