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Square Upgrades Square Reader for Magstripe With Lightning Connector

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Square today announced that it has updated its original free Square Reader for Magstripe with a new Lightning connector, so sellers with the iPhone 7 and above will no longer need to use an adapter to accept payments from customers.

Prior to the Lighting connector update, the Square Reader plugged into the headphone jack on a device. Square users with the iPhone 7 or later were required to use an adapter with the Square Reader as Apple eliminated the headphone jack starting with the iPhone 7.

squarereaderlightning-800x533.jpg

Square is also introducing support for using the original Square Reader with a computer using the Square Virtual Terminal. This setup is ideal for sellers who do the majority of their business on the computer, and the software is compatible with Apple's Macs and Chromebooks.

According to Square, users will need to plug the Square reader for Magstripe into the headphone jack on a computer and then open up the Virtual Terminal to begin accepting payments via computer.

Transactions made via the new Square Reader with Lightning or the Square Reader used with a computer incur a 2.75 percent fee per swipe for Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express. Manually entered computer payments incur a fee of 3.5 percent plus 15 cents.

The Square Reader for Magstripe with the new Lightning connector is available from the Square website for $10 or free for eligible merchants.

Article Link: Square Upgrades Square Reader for Magstripe With Lightning Connector
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2018/08/29/square-reader-lightning-connector/
What is the general user feedback about Square, specifically with a smartphone?

Curious to know if I should enroll.
 
KPandian1 said:
What is the general user feedback about Square, specifically with a smartphone?

Curious to know if I should enroll.
Click to expand...
It has allowed me to accept cards over the years easily but it’s not free to use. Small fee has been worth the convenience.
 
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Is it me, or shouldn't it be possible for an app on an iPhone 6 or later to accept Apple Pay/contactless directly using the NFC chip in the phone?

Can't these NFC chips talk to each other?
 
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zorinlynx said:
Is it me, or shouldn't it be possible for an app on an iPhone 6 or later to accept Apple Pay/contactless directly using the NFC chip in the phone?

Can't these NFC chips talk to each other?
Click to expand...

It might be possible; my mate has the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge and I note with Samsung Pay you can hold a NFC capable credit/debit card against the back of the handset without having to key the number in etc.

There are NFC apps out there, doesn’t iPhone 7 and later have an inbuilt NFC reader already??
 
iGeek2014 said:
It might be possible; my mate has the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge and I note with Samsung Pay you can hold a NFC capable credit/debit card against the back of the handset without having to key the number in etc.

There are NFC apps out there, doesn’t iPhone 7 and later have an inbuilt NFC reader already??
Click to expand...
It can't be used for payment as a smartphone by itself is not a PCI/PED Compliant Device. The Square reader is, which is why you can Apple Pay that directly, but not another iPhone directly.
 
Iconoclysm said:
As much as I want that to happen, I just don't see it happening this year. Next year maybe.
Click to expand...


Not going to happen. Apple is all in with Lightning for many reasons. Size, less susceptible to breakage, and Apple has complete control over Lightning, not so with USB-C. Oh, and they have over a billion devices with Lightning and aren't about to put USB in things light AirPods.
 
Iconoclysm said:
As much as I want that to happen, I just don't see it happening this year. Next year maybe.
Click to expand...
Trik said:
Just in time for Apple to move to USB-C on the new iPhones!
Click to expand...

It is NEVER going to happen. The recent rumors are referring to the eventual pack in of a lightning to USB-C cable and USB-C power brick. There will never be a USB-C port on an iOS device.
 
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1080p said:
It is NEVER going to happen. The recent rumors are referring to the eventual pack in of a lightning to USB-C cable and USB-C power brick. There will never be a USB-C port on an iOS device.
Click to expand...
I still hope for an EU decision on mandating USB-C & PD protocol native on the device.
Franky, with USB-C there's no point in holding onto the Lightning port especially when going all-in with the Macs.
Currently, the only advantage of Lightning is the better "locking in", but that can be also achieved by introducing the notch in USB-C plugs (yes, that's possible without breaking compatibility).
 
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[AUT] Thomas said:
I still hope for an EU decision on mandating USB-C & PD protocol native on the device.
Franky, with USB-C there's no point in holding onto the Lightning port especially when going all-in with the Macs.
Currently, the only advantage of Lightning is the better "locking in", but that can be also achieved by introducing the notch in USB-C plugs (yes, that's possible without breaking compatibility).
Click to expand...

Not sure if it will make a difference. In 2013, the following was decided when micro USB was the standard,
"The signatories of the memorandum of understanding on the harmonisation of chargers for mobile phones (MoU)(1) agreed to introduce a common charging solution based on Micro-USB technology. The MoU also allowed for the use of an adaptor and does not prescribe the conditions for its provision.

The Commission does not have evidence that Apple has breached the agreement. The iPhone 5 can be used with an adaptor allowing it to be connected to the common charger. The Commission does not interfere on the marketing strategies of the manufacturers."

I am unaware if things have changed to the degree that an adapter would break the rules.
 
@PlayUltimate They recently reassessed the situation. As far as I understood the primary goal is the charger, that should not become obsolete. So, a universal charger that has an USB-A or USB-C port will be acceptable while chargers with a cable will be banned. This time it might also include laptop chargers for obvious reason.
As the discussion might extend to cables (?) the Lightning cables might get more attention than Apple would like, as it doesn't provide any advantage over USB-C. Especially since Apple pushed USB-C on the Macbook as "the one and only" they would have a hard time arguing for Lightning on the iPhone when literally every other state-of-the-art smartphone uses USB-C.
 
[AUT] Thomas said:
I still hope for an EU decision on mandating USB-C & PD protocol native on the device.
Franky, with USB-C there's no point in holding onto the Lightning port especially when going all-in with the Macs.
Currently, the only advantage of Lightning is the better "locking in", but that can be also achieved by introducing the notch in USB-C plugs (yes, that's possible without breaking compatibility).
Click to expand...

Except that USB-C is a larger, less durable, less secure connector. I don't mind it as a replacement for USB-A (and only if all of the non-USB-PD compliant cables/chargers/devices are recalled and destroyed), but on iOS devices, its Lightning. Period.
 
1080p said:
It is NEVER going to happen. The recent rumors are referring to the eventual pack in of a lightning to USB-C cable and USB-C power brick. There will never be a USB-C port on an iOS device.
Click to expand...

H3LL5P4WN said:
Except that USB-C is a larger, less durable, less secure connector. I don't mind it as a replacement for USB-A (and only if all of the non-USB-PD compliant cables/chargers/devices are recalled and destroyed), but on iOS devices, its Lightning. Period.
Click to expand...

I'm not so sure. I do agree probably not this year... BUT,

USB-C - 23% of the engineers that worked on the specification that became USB-C came from Apple. I don't disagree that Lighting is also great, and Apple loves Lighting, it's just that USB-C is still in line with Apple's design vision. Micro-usb NEVER was, and as such, they would never adopt it. BUT, at some point, if it makes more financial sense to stop including dongles, having multiple versions of the iPhone (one for the EU, one for Asia, one for the Americas), they may consider USB-C because it STILL fits in line with their design goals.
 
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Trik said:
I'm not so sure. I do agree probably not this year... BUT,

USB-C - 23% of the engineers that worked on the specification that became USB-C came from Apple. I don't disagree that Lighting is also great, and Apple loves Lighting, it's just that USB-C is still in line with Apple's design vision. Micro-usb NEVER was, and as such, they would never adopt it. BUT, at some point, if it makes more financial sense to stop including dongles, having multiple versions of the iPhone (one for the EU, one for Asia, one for the Americas), they may consider USB-C because it STILL fits in line with their design goals.
Click to expand...

Except that it's physically larger and more fragile. While it could be a huge step forward over Micro USB (once they get all of the proprietary crap off of the market), it's still inferior if for no other reasons than durability and size.
 
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