Square chip reader

[BlackCatStudio98]

Does anyone have the square chip reader? Is it easier to scan the chip than to swipe?

I haven't done a show for about a year and a half, and my square card reader is about 3 years old. I'm wondering if I should get a new one for an upcoming show, and if it's worth it to get the chip reader.

[homestylecharlie]

I have both the swipe and the chip reader. Most cards I take have a chip, so that's what I use unless there isn't a chip. I've found the chip reader works well as long as I have a good connection. I can also go "off-line" and take cards although I'd rather not. I personally like the chip reader best because it's easy and fast. Sometimes you have to hold the card just right if you're swiping the strip, but the chip reader takes the card nice and securely.

[AllisonGlickCeramics]

I would definitely get the contactless chip reader. It works great, it much easier then swiping. It also comes with a mag strip reader for cards without chips. Another reason to get the chip reader is that you're not protected against credit card fraud if you swipe a card with a chip.

Even if you decide to only use the free mag strip reader, you should get a new one. I believe Square updated the design a couple of years ago so your 3 year old reader might be out of date. If not, they are free, so there's no harm in having a spare. We get a new one every six months or so, because they seem to get less reliable over time.

[Former_Member]

I use the chip reader when I get a "chip card" but I find the approval to take longer than when swiping a card.

[bowlswithholes]

You do need to get a new reader if your square is old, its a little larger cube, the old ones won't work anymore. If you do get a chip reader, and you are using a smart phone, get the one that is a larger cube, that allows you to swipe a card on one side or insert a chip card on the other. I have found that the larger chip reader which I have, its the one where you insert the entire card into it, only works well if you have the square register, it doesn't work well with my phone at all, and I have ended up going back to just swiping the cards because I have been in the position of losing sales when it doesn't work properly. Once you insert a chip card, if it doesn't work, it won't allow me to swipe because it has a chip!...frustrating!

[BlackCatStudio98]

It's decided, I'm getting a new reader. Thank you everyone for the replies.

Cindy, is it the $50 contactless reader that you've had problems with, or is it a different one?

I want to get whatever is easiest because swiping cards always gave me anxiety because they could be so hard to swipe. :-p

[bowlswithholes]

I'm honestly not sure! I got it when they 1st came out.They offered free processing for the $50 fee. Its a 2"x2" square that you insert the entire end of the chipped card into, it works poorly with my iPhone, but people who have the register, say it works very well.

[BlackCatStudio98]

Cindy, I think you have the regular chip reader not the contactless one. I don't have register, so I wonder if I'll have problems with my phone. It's not an iPhone it's an LG4. Has anyone else who doesn't have register had problems with the chip reader?

[homestylecharlie]

I think I have the contactless chip reader. I don't have a register, only the app on my iphone4s. It works well for me.

[AllisonGlickCeramics]

We have the $49 contactless one (the 2" square that you slide the card into) and it works much better than the reader $29 chip reader that plugs into the phone.

The processing speed has gotten much better with recent software updates. I think they said it's about 3 seconds now.

[Former_Member]

We have 2 of the regular Square readers, and 1 of the new chip readers, not the contactless one but the less expensive one. But, I only got to use that chip reader a couple of times before it died on me after charging, so we've been using the regular swipe reader until we get a new chip reader.

And, BTW, like Allison and Sheryl said, Square is fast. After our customer signs for the charge, I'll go into my account (before handing the card back to them) to do a quick check to make sure the charge went through. It's only a couple seconds between the time they sign and I go into my account, and the charge has been there every single time.

[AllisonGlickCeramics]

Mike, I know I've said this before in other threads, so forgive the repartition, but the $29 chip reader was poorly made, rushed to market prematurely, and IMO Square knows it. Have you had it for less then a year? If so it's under warranty, even if it isn't I'd write to them anyway. It couldn't hurt.

We had 4 of them. We just emailed warranty, said it won't hold a charge and they send a new one. As long as we returned the old one within 14 days the prepaid label they provided we aren't charged.

However, I finally wrote that I was extremely disappointed with this product, and I was concerned that I was being forced to accept liability for fraudulent charges because their equipment keep failing.

I said I didn't want another replacement, I asked to apply my $29 square return towards the purchase of the new (at the time) $49 contactless reader. The apologized for my problems and sent the contactless reader free of charge.

This was in October and it has never given us a single problem. It stays charged all day, it doesn't drain the phone battery either. We bought a portable charger because we had both those issues with the other Square, but haven't needed to use it.

The only downside is that the contactless reader can only pair to one device at a time. This works for us, I take payments, while Allison (she's the potter, and it's her work), wraps the purchases. This involves bubble wrap, tissue paper, gift boxes, shopping bags, etc. So, I don't have a problem keeping up with the financial transactions.

If you and Cindy both need to take payments you can still swipe sales with the mag strip reader on the other phone, I would just make sure to take large purchases on the chip reader to minimize your risk.

[wavejewelry]

I like the Square contactless chip reader a lot. I haven't had any problems processing chip cards with my android phone. The other thing that I like about this reader is that it takes applepay and other smart phone epayments. After I put the info in, the customer just holds their phone over the reader, I tap the orange bar on the square app on my phone and the sale processes. Easy and the customer is always impressed that I have this kind of technology.

[bowlswithholes]

Allison, I'm having the same problems with my contactless square that you had with the other one. It doesn't hold a charge, and if you are trying to make a sale, and it doesn't work, you can't just go ahead and swipe it, it won't work! Its been so frustrating I just gave up on using it...I wonder if its because I got it when it 1st came out? Maybe they have made improvements to it, guess I should see if they could replace mine with a new one.

[AllisonGlickCeramics]

Cindy, it has a one year warranty. In the Square app in the support section under hardware there are trouble shooting tips, and a replacement request. They should send you a new one.

[Former_Member]

Thanks Allison, I'll check that out. I only used it at 2 shows, then I charged it and that was that, didn't work anymore. I'll take your advice and will check out the support section to see if I can return it and get a new one, or maybe the contactless one.

[BlackCatStudio98]

I decided on the contactless chip reader. I bought it from Amazon because I needed the fast shipping, and it turned out to be $41.90 instead of $49.95. I will be trying it out this Sunday.

[WhimsyBits]

I have the $29 chip reader and I really hate it.. I generally will start out with it and then go back to the freebie swipe version. I don't have a problem with fraudulent activity.

It doesn't stay connected, even if I leave it in my phone, which I don't like to do because if I do then it's dead halfway through the day.

It makes a transaction a lot slower than it should be!!

So the $50 one works better?

[BeachFleaMarket]

We had one interesting transaction with the square. I have the chip card reader and my daughter just has the swipe one. Because I am pared with the chip card reader, it will not allow me to swipe a chip card. We had a customer with a broken (physically damaged) chip. I couldn't swipe it but my daughter could. Yes, there is a risk of being libel for fraud charges. Do you have the same liability if you manually enter the card #?

[TextileTrolley]

I have the $49 chip reader....it's the way to go. Very easy to use once you get used to it. I did a 3 day show 2 weekends ago and only had 2 cards that I had to swipe, this last weekend a 1 day show and only 1 swipe.
I feel the chip is the safest way to go and it's the future, they won't be issuing anymore swipe cards.

[WhimsyBits]

Anne - I don't know if you have the same liability (although I think you would) but you do get charged a higher processing fee if you manually enter the card.

[BeachFleaMarket]

Thanks Dawn,
I think you are right about both.

[BeachFleaMarket]

Another thing, I always set up the reader early, before I have a sale. Sinc the blue tooth and sign into the app. Getting that out of the way makes the first transaction easier.

[VermontLavenderGifts]

I have both the chip reader and the swipe. People seem really comfortable with the chip reader as long as I have a good wifi connection. People love the convenience.

[PoppyAndDandelion]

Hi! I have my first craft show coming up in September and I'm considering getting a Square reader to process payments. Has anyone purchased the full Square POS kit with the ipad stand, chip reader, & receipt printer? I worry about not being able to provide a paper receipt if someone doesn't have email or doesn't wish to give out their email address. Has this ever been a problem for anyone?

I've also read many comments on threads that you shouldn't have a cash box for fear or theft. Does anyone here use a cash box? Has anyone with the stand also purchased the Square cash box? What about the bluetooth scanner? Do you manually enter your product information if you don't have a scanner? I use Craftybase to track my inventory, which is compatible with Square, so I'm just curious if it would be easier to track everything with the scanner.

Sorry for all the questions! I'm so new to everything and have only used the Sell on Etsy app to track my in person purchases before. Now that they're no longer distributing card readers, I need to find a quicker solution for my in person sales.

Thank you for any answers or advice that you can give!