Baton Rouge businesses are increasingly using Square as a mobile payment method.
Square, a three-part system that consists of the Square Card Reader, Square Register and Pay with Square, is in use at almost 1,500 businesses in Baton Rouge, according to Lindsay Wiese, Square communications associate.
Square allows customers to make purchases without having to swipe a credit card by using the Pay with Square application on their smartphones. The Square Register lets business owners turn their iPads into card-reading registers with the addition of the Square Card Reader that attaches to the iPad’s audio jack.
Customers can open their tab through the app, say “Put it on John Doe,” and the payment is made. On-the-go business owners can plug the card readers into their iPhones or iPads and swipe credit cards with no additional equipment.
“I live in San Francisco, and sometimes the only thing I carry is my phone. It’s nice with Square because now my phone is practically my wallet,” Wiese said.
Wiese said the card reader is free, and the rate per swipe is 2.75 percent. She called the rate “pretty low” and said there are no additional fees and no contract.
Justin Page, owner of Bushwood BBQ Sandwiches on Perkins Road, uses Square to accept payments at his restaurant. He said he was drawn to Square because it was the easiest system to set up.
He said the service only requested information about his company and the bank account to which the payments are connected. Other credit card companies required hefty paperwork and certification, Page said.
“It took no time to set up,” he said. “Especially with starting a new business, it was nice to not have to worry about