Square is popular for its full-service merchant account services, payment processing, and cheap card readers. It’s famous for being a no-fuss, budget-friendly card processing solution.
For anyone making in-person sales, that means using the Square Card Reader. Here, you get everything you need to accept in-person payments. That means all credit and debit card payments.
In addition, you get contactless payments like digital wallets and Klarna. Plus, with self-checkout on Kiosks, you can enable payment solutions like PayPal and more.
Square Reader is one of the most popular small business card readers in the UK. That makes sense because Square has a lot to offer, including low and transparent pricing, a lot of features, and full-service inventory and store management. Let’s take a look!
What is the Square Card Reader?
The Square Card Reader is a card terminal that connects with Square’s merchant services. To get a card reader, you start a Square account, choose a subscription (starting from free), and then buy a card reader.
You’ll have to set up your account and confirm your bank account. From there, you can immediately start accepting payments.
That can also be as complex or as simple as you like. For example, Square takes keyed-in payments, where you simply tell it how much to charge per transaction. Or, you can set up online inventory and track sales, link payments to products sold, and have records created for you.
You’ll also get to choose from 4 major reader options:
1. Square Reader 2
This is Square’s cheapest card reader. This model costs £22 including VAT. It links to the Square app where you can manage payments with your phone. The device itself is wireless and can be recharged with USB-C.
You’ll pay no monthly fees. However, you will pay a 1.75% processing fee for contactless, chip, or pin payment and 6% + 30p for ClearPay transactions. However, with no PIN terminal, you can’t accept larger payments.
2. Square Tap to Pay (Payment App)
If you don’t want to pay for a card reader, Square allows you to use your mobile phone. If your Apple or Android phone is a model from 2018 or sooner, you can typically use the Square Payments app to accept contactless payments.
There are no monthly fees. You’ll pay a transaction fee of 1.75% for all contactless payments including cards and digital wallets.
3. Square Terminal
The Square Terminal upgrades the Square card reader with a display for PIN, allowing you to more easily accept larger payments. That also makes it a better fit for many types of business, like restaurants, retail stores, and the service industry.
The card reader also links to your choice of point of sale, and can synchronise with online sales. Plus, you can add a printer, ethernet connection, and other extras. The base cost is £178.80 with VAT, which you can finance.
4. Square Register
Square Register is a Square card reader with an attached till, allowing you to accept and process cash securely.
The system also comes with a customer-facing screen, so you can accept all types of payments. Plus, it supports click and collect and kiosk, making it a full-service device.
The register costs £718.80 with VAT and fees are the same.
Square also offers multiple iPad-driven card readers. Here, you pay £99 for the attachments to make it work and supply your own iPad. Otherwise, fees are the same.
Square Card Reader Features
The Square card reader offers a lot of features, no matter which option you look into.
With options for startups, micro-business, restaurants, retail, and service industry, Square does it all. All you have to do is match the card reader to your business needs.
Portable
Square offers a portable card reader. Most of its options are chargeable via USB-C.
In addition, you can use your mobile phone as a card reader. That means you can accept payments anywhere.
If you’re working in a retail store or restaurant, you can bring the card reader to the customer.
Multiple Options
With 5 major card reader options, Square offers readers suitable for everyone. That includes:
- Screenless, portable card reader with no screen or PIN terminal. Great for micro-business and budget startups, like market stalls, small stores, and freelancers who sometimes accept in-person payments.
- Portable card reader with small screen/digital pin-card terminal. Great for multi-purpose use.
- Mobile phone app. Ideal if you’re on a budget and primarily accept contactless payments. However, you might lose sales if your customer doesn’t have a contactless-enabled chip.
- Kiosk and till-enabled card reader for a full-service retail solution that also allows you to accept cash
- iPad adaptations, so you can mount an iPad to use as a kiosk or checkout terminal for contactless payments
Plus, all options come with accessories like mounts, tills, terminals, and receipt printers, so you can customize as much as you want.
Connects to POS
Square card readers directly integrate with the Square Point of Sale. However, you can easily integrate your Square reader with a different point of sale. That means you can connect Square’s card reader to your choice of sales manager.
Square is extremely popular for its all-in-one retail solution. For example, you can build out inventory and merchandising and make online and in-person sales directly from Square with no other platforms.
You can also integrate your Square Reader into another point of sale solution. That makes it extremely versatile.
Why a POS connection? Customers can order themselves from a kiosk. You can also add items from a screen and have tallies automatically show up. And, when you use Square’s inventory management, processing payments automatically deducts inventory from that location.
Screens Available
Square allows you to connect screens, iPads, and terminals, so customers can see what they are buying. You can also set up self-service kiosks and terminals with Square POS.
For example, you can allow customers at a restaurant to order from a mounted tablet, pay upfront, and then all they have to do is wait for their order. Or, you can show customers items as you add them to the order during checkout.
Mobile App Management
You can use Square from just an app on a compatible phone. That also means you can update settings, determine checkout options, and tailor every part of your payment solution with just an app.
You don’t need code experience or technical skills, as everything is easy to use and mobile friendly.
Fees for the Square Card Reader in the UK
Most Square readers come with a simple upfront purchase fee or you can pay over 12 months. In addition, you’ll pay transaction fees and an optional monthly fee.
Let’s take a look at what Square card reader fees look like for UK customers:
- Upfront fee: £22-£718.80 (Free with Tap to Pay solution)
- Monthly fees: £0-£29+ per month (custom pricing is available)
- Processing Fees: 1.75% for face-to-face transactions, 2.5% for manually entered transactions, up to 1.5% + 25p for online transactions with kiosks
That’s it! Square doesn’t charge any other fees. However, if you opt for instant transfer of funds to your account, you will pay an additional 1% fee.
Pros and Cons of the Square Card Reader
The Square card reader is a great fit for small-to-medium businesses. In addition, some of its solutions are ideal for high street, restaurants, and retail shops.
That means there are a lot of pros and some cons:
Pros
- Fees are low or nonexistent. With the tap-to-pay, you can start for free and pay nothing but transaction costs of 1.75%. Most features are available with the free subscription, though you can pay £29 or more per month.
- Card readers are low-cost, so you won’t break the bank to get started. In addition, most systems are modular. If you want to get started, you can buy a simple terminal and upgrade it with docks and receipt printers as you have more funds. Or you can pay in monthly installments. Still, with the most basic reader at £22 including VAT, Square offers an extremely accessible card reader.
- Everything you need to merchandise and sell products is in one place. That includes a point of sale, terminals, sales tracking, card acceptance, online payment gateway, etc. Square offers everything.
- Transaction costs are predictable, and you’ll always pay a flat 1.75% for face-to-face transactions except for ClearPay.
- It’s easy to scale. You can add more terminals, more readers, and more inventory locations to the same account. In fact, Square supports up to 10 inventory locations!
- Square offers a merchant account alongside your card reader, so you’ll only have to work with one company to start accepting card payments.
Cons
- Square card readers are a best fit for small-to-medium businesses. This is not an enterprise solution. Instead, it’s ideal for high street shops, service industry, restaurant, and gig workers.
- Online transactions have a higher transaction fee.
- You’re limited to £3,500 of withdrawals per day
- If you’re flagged for risk management review, you may face an account hold. Keep paperwork and legislation in one place so you can easily prove legitimacy of your business and get back to business if that happens.
- The budget Square card reader is “too budget” and won’t scale with you very far. If you choose the cheapest option, you might quickly outgrow it as a solution.
Square Card Reader Reviews from UK Consumers
Square is one of the best reviewed card reader providers in the UK.
You get a small-business-friendly solution that offers everything you need to accept face-to-face card payments. Plus, you get plenty of extras for free, no monthly fees, and low transaction rates.
Let’s take a look at how UK consumers reviewed the Square card reader:
| Online Store | Trustpilot | Capterra | GetApp | Google Play | Apple App Store |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Square Rating | 3.9 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 4.7 | 4.8 |
| Number of Reviewers | 5,743 | 2,564 | 2,966 | 238,436 | 518,000 |
Essentially, Square is a great choice and is consistently highly rated.
Square Card Reader vs. Competitors
Square’s card reader solutions best compare to Clover and SumUp in the UK market. In the table below, you can directly compare terminals, card reader solutions, and pricing.
Of course, you might also want to look at traditional card reader providers for a better idea of what Square is offering with its card reader solution.
| App | Monthly Fee | Transaction Fee (UK) | Reader Cost | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Square | £0-£29 | 1.75% + | £22-£718.80 | 4.5 |
| Shopify Payments | £25-£239 | 1.6% + 25p+ | £59-£339 | 4.5 |
| Ayden | None | 3% + 10p | £59+ | 4.7 |
| Tide | None | 1.5% | £79+ | 4.1 |
| SumUp | £0-£49 | 0.99%-2.5% | £34-£380 | 4.5 |
| Zettle | None | 1.75% | £29-£59 | 4.6 |
| Barclaycard Business | £0-£29+ | 1.6%+ | £0 | 4.6 |
| Elavon | £0-£62 | 0.99%-1.75% | £19+ | 2.8 |
| Handepay | £19.95 | 2.29% + 1-4p | £19+ | 4.8 |
| Lloyds Bank Cardnet | £19.95 + £0-£27 for device | 0.5% + (averaging 1.75%) | £49+ | 3.2 |
| Clover | £0-£15+ | 2.3+10p + | £199-£799+ | 3.8 |
| Tyl by Natwest | £14.95 + £9.99-£16.99 | 1.39%+5p - 1.99%+5p | £0 | 4.7 |
Essentially, Square card readers compare well with leading competitors for rates, monthly rates, transaction fees, and customer ratings. That makes Square one of the best card reader options you can choose.
Getting Started with the Square Card Reader
You can get started with Square on the same day you make an account. Just have your business paperwork ready so you can move through the sign-up process as quickly as possible.
- Sign up for a Square Account.
- Choose a Subscription.
- Order a Square card reader and wait for it to arrive.
- Download the Square POS app and set up your account. You’ll have to validate your business details and bank details. Square will also deduct a small charge from your account to validate it. You may have to complete additional risk processes such as taking a photo with your ID.
- When the card reader arrives, connect it to your phone via Bluetooth or connect it directly to your WiFi if you have a model with a screen. Log into your Square POS app and you’re ready to get started.
That’s it, no complicated setup or coding. Of course, you can always add a lot more complexity to Square by setting up POS, inventory, and online shopping. However, you don’t have to.
Conclusion
The Square card reader is a small business-friendly card terminal. It’s cheap, portable, and easy to set up. You also get plenty of extras, so you can scale your business online, take different kinds of payments, or add accessories like terminals, tills, and receipts. It’s up to you. Square is also one of the best reviewed card machines in the country. Still, it’s not right for everyone. With dozens of options, you want to compare your best fits so you know you’re getting the best. Use the form below and we’ll request quotes from top card machine providers that meet your requirements, and we’ll send you the best quotes so you can get started hassle free.