Square Makes Dongles Available at Major Retailers

June 11, 2012

Square, the mobile card acceptance startup that has spawned a host of competitors, recently said it has made the card readers that plug in to a smartphone’s headphone jack available at 20,000 retail locations in the U.S. The company said the square dongles that gave it its name are being sold for $9.95 at Fedex Office, Staples and Walgreens stores. In addition to enabling merchants to take card payments, Square also lets them accept card-not-present payments by keying in a credit or debit card number. Making the card readers available at national retailers will raise the visibility of a company that already is processing transactions at an annualized rate of $5 billion.

“Accepting credit cards should be as easy as buying supplies at your local store,” says Jeffrey Kolovson, head of Retail Distribution at Square. “We are working with leading retailers including Walgreens, Staples, and FedEx Office to give business owners convenient access to the Square Card Reader, the easiest way to accept credit card payments and grow their business.”

Small businesses that buy the reader and sign up for Square’s service for the first time will receive a $10 rebate, rendering the reader free for new users.