Use Square To Power Your Online Payments



Accept any pending payments. When someone sends you money for the first time using the Cash app, the payment may be pending, awaiting your approval. To accept a pending payment: Tap the notification icon in the top-right (small circle with the number of unread notifications). Tap Accept next to a pending payment. Calculate Your Electricity Bill in 1 min by Simple Calculation. Electric Energy Bill Calculator. It is very easy to calculate the electricity bill and tariff for electrical engineering students and professionals but, it makes confusion for non-technical people that concern about their electric charges from the electricity service providers.

Nowadays, any company can easily process digital payments via point-of-sale devices, mobile phones, tablet devices, and online gateway interfaces, and there are many apps and programs out there that you can use for payment processing. Square has become one of most popular payment processing systems, but it isn't as reliable as you may think.

Use square to power your online payments calculatorUse Square To Power Your Online Payments
  • Check your bill to compare your use Your Equal Pay amount is an estimate based on past use. So it’s a good idea to look at your bill each month to compare your actual use to the Equal Pay amount and make sure they are similar. You can also track any differences throughout the year on the back of your bill, on the line labeled “Equal Pay.
  • To use Square Cash, you have to be a resident of the US, and also physically present in the US. That means you can’t use it when you’re travelling or if you’re an expat and live abroad. If you’re planning on using Square Cash to make a payment, it’s also useful to note that the Cash app can’t be used in some US territories.
  • Take every major electronic payment type with this Square terminal. Its processing of swipe, tap and dip payments is securely encrypted to provide peace of mind, and the flat-rate service ensures quick, easy payment management. This Square terminal handles business on the road with all-day battery power and Wi-Fi connectivity.

Although Square has gained popularity primarily for its compatibility with most mobile devices, there are better alternatives available today. Since the technology behind payment processing changes quickly, Square now has a number of disadvantages over its competitors.

First, Square has one of the most dismal keyed-in success percentage rates among credit card processing services. In other words, a significant number of Square’s transactions go incomplete and are ultimately rejected. Lost sales means lost revenue and frustration for your customers.

Second, Square can be quite expensive. Transaction fees tend to range between 2.75% and 3.5% with an additional 15-cent surcharge per transaction, making Square one of the most expensive payment processing systems for credit cards out there.

Third, the Square card reader is simply unreliable, explaining why it comes free with sign-up. Although the card reader easily plugs into most mobile devices, it breaks far too easily, meaning your business could be unable accept digital payments until a replacement is delivered.

Consider these insights when researching credit card payment processors for your business.

You probably already know Square as one of the most popular choices for taking credit cards using a smartphone. The Square POS system is also an increasingly common choice for in-store payments, especially for businesses with smaller transactions, like coffee shops. But it wasn’t until recently that the company rolled out an e-commerce option, called Square Connect.

What is Square Connect?

The Square Connect API lets businesses with self-hosted e-commerce websites seamlessly integrate their site with Square to accept payments and manage business data on a web-based dashboard.

Before Square Connect, there wasn’t a way to take payments online with Square. The company’s online business customers had to use a different payment service to complete web store checkouts. Now, however, Square Connects’ e-commerce API eliminates the need for a third party online payment vendor. You’ll be able to handle all of your processing with Square, whether it’s in-store payments or website transactions.

The current version lets you:

  • Accept e-commerce payments from your websites
  • Manage customer data of online buyers, including cards on file
  • Issue refunds
  • Retrieve payment and refund information

Square boasts that you don’t need a lot of technical knowledge to enable online payment capability when you choose Square Connect.

What is an API and how does Square’s work?

APIs enable different computing programs to “communicate” with each other to perform detailed and sophisticated tasks. Historically referred to as “middleware,” today’s sophisticated API’s integrate new features into existing applications (known as “plug-in API’s”). Companies that use API-enabled systems – like combined online payment and management products – usually must work with software engineers to program and manage the API.

Square says its e-commerce API all-in-one payment and data processing suite for face-to-face and online transactions allows you to accept, then monitor, all credit card payments with one simple web dashboard. According to the company, there’s no need for sophisticated software development engineers, which could be a cost savings for you. Pushing simplicity is in direct contrast to competitor Stripe, which prides itself on being a “developer’s choice.”

Why is Square offering the API?

Square is hoping to successfully compete with the leading payment web payment providers, including Stripe – an online-only service – and PayPal. Previously, Stripe and Square were not direct competitors, as one only offered online payments and one only offered in-person payments. PayPal offers both, but is much more well-known for its online payment options. (PayPal’s nearly 20 year success gives it the largest online payment share.) Moving into online payment acceptance now pits Square firmly against those two companies. Square’s new API also comes close on the heels of PayPal’s EMV card reader release, which targets Square’s large reader market share.

Square’s current clients – primarily those who use the card readers and POS systems – don’t necessarily want to deal with the IT and programming set-ups that are required with most e-commerce API’s. Square is hoping that customers who already appreciate the simple mobile payment and POS options will also find the simplicity of the ecommerce option appealing.

Who is Square’s API good for, and why?

PayPal, Stripe, and many other API providers have reputations for creating “developer’s platforms.” These are primarily built for clients that can afford to maintain an IT/software development staff or are very tech-savvy and can implement more complex payment solutions on their sites.

But Square markets the Connect API as a user-friendly, “you don’t need to be (or hire) a developer to use our platform,” solution, which makes it a viable option for those who don’t want to bother with complicated programming or don’t feel comfortable programming a payment integration.

What does it cost?

Square Connect charges a fee of 2.9% +$0.30 for each payment. This puts them at exact the same pricing as Stripe, PayPal, and Braintree.

While those four ecommerce payment providers have the same pricing, don’t make the mistake of thinking that every processor will charge that, or that online payments are a fixed cost. Depending on your volume and business specifics, you may be able to get lower pricing for online payments.

Check what pricing you’re eligible for at CardFellow.

Use

Additional Square Services

Use Square To Power Your Online Payments Without

In addition to Square Connect, the company offers services like invoicing, payroll, inventory management, and more. Anoptional Square for Retail package includes advanced reporting features. It also allows you to take advantage of services designed specifically for small businesses in retail businesses.

Other Options for Taking Online Payments

Use Square To Power Your Online Payments Online

Although only a few names tend to get the media attention, there are actually a lot of options for taking payments online, with varying degrees of technical knowledge required. In fact, most processors nowadays have ways to get you set up to take online payments. If you want to know exactly what pricing you’re eligible for, use our price comparison tool to see the real costs of processing with different ecommerce payment processors.