The mobile dongle version will sell for USD 29 and a table-top version will cost USD 39 - a departure for the company not just in terms of technology but also cost as the old mag-stripe dongles were free. In Europe, where chip-based card reading mobile-dongles have been on the market for years already, companies like iZettle, Payleven and PayPal that provide them have also been charging.
The reader is compatible with iOS and Android devices, processes both magnetic-stripe and chip cards and is capable of managing a whole day of sales on one charge.
The new reader looks very similar to the old one, the difference being that it reads the microchip that is embedded in the card instead of the mag stripe. This is to help Square stay current with regulations that will require card issuers to switch to EMV-based chip-and-pin services, which are considered more secure than mag-stripes. The deadline for the switchover is October 2015 in the US.
In recent news, Zoho Books has integrated its online accounting software with Square.
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