Mobile payment company Square, which makes a plastic dongle that can be used to accept credit card payments using a cell phone or tablet, is now aiming to help brick-and-mortar retailers replace their cash registers with iPads.
The company on Monday released a new iPad app called Square Register, which provides a number of features meant to allow merchants to do anything they could on a conventional cash register, with their iPad. The app lets merchants easily set up a library of the items they sell, and assign a photo and price to each item, according to Square. Merchants can then browse the items, and create a list of "favorites" for easy access when checking out customers.
With the app, and the plastic, Square card reader that plugs into an iPad headphone jack, merchants can accept cash and all major credit cards. Customers who pay with a credit card can sign the receipt with their finger to confirm the purchase. Merchants can then text, email, or print the customer's receipt.
The app and Square's card reader are both free, but the company charges merchants a rate of 2.75 percent for every Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover transaction. The app is compatible with iPads running iOS 5.
The app also allows merchants to create loyalty programs, keep track of sales, view detailed analytics, and see transaction details in real-time, according to Square. Merchants can also create custom employee permissions, specifying who can access which features, including sales reports and other sensitive data.
Square has released a YouTube video (below) explaining the features of the new app.
Meanwhile, Square's technology is soon heading to some New York City taxicabs. City officials last week gave the go-ahead to a yearlong pilot program that will place Square's payments technology, along with shiny new iPads, in 30 taxicabs.
For more, see PCMag's full review of Square.