IBS Journal January 2018
39
smartphone or tablet, which Square transforms quickly and easily into a portable payments terminal. To get started, business owners simply purchase the Square Reader for £39 from the Square Shop, connect it via Bluetooth to a phone or tablet, and download the free Square Point of Sale app, which is designed specifically with the needs of small businesses in mind.
Our model is simple - once small businesses are set up with their Square Reader, which they own, we take a small fee to cover their card processing every time a transaction is made. UK sellers using Square pay a competitive, transparent flat fee of 1.75% for in-person payments, and 2.5% for all other transactions such as online, by phone, via an electronic invoice or virtual terminal. This simple, affordable and transparent pricing model means there are no monthly fees, no hardware rental costs, no compliance fees or lengthy end-of-the-month bills.
It takes minutes to get setup, and sellers can quickly and securely begin accepting payments from Visa, Mastercard and American Express cards. Square’s card reader pairs with the free Square Point of Sale software, which includes tools such as real-time sales data, invoicing and digital receipts, all in a single app.
Square also enables businesses to take a range of ‘card not present’ transactions which do not require the Square Reader. If you’re a business that makes sales over the phone and online sales, or even if you’re an online-only business, you can use Square to take payments, and we store all your transaction data in your Square Dashboard so you can track income clearly.
All of these ‘card not present’ features are charged at a flat fee of 2.5%. – whether they are invoices sent to customers to pay online; virtual terminals so you can take a telephone payment yourself; or e-commerce.
We offer the following e-commerce alternatives: Through one of our partners (BigCommerce, Wix, Weebly, Ecwid) that make setting up an online store fast through pre-made templates and themes with no coding required; through one of our open source partners (Woocommerce, Magento) to build an online store which all have prebuilt Square integrations; or directly through our e-commerce API or Square Checkout to create solutions.
What sets you apart from the competition?
There are many features that set Square apart from the competition. We have focused on the speed of payments, normally within a business day. Our service requires you to purchase the Square Reader (£39 + VAT), which carries no monthly fees or minimum use, and set up and account I under 5 minutes.
From then on, you will be able to support Visa, MasterCard and American Express at the same rate, as well as take any type of contactless, Chip & Pin and Android/Apple Pay payments. We charge 1.75% per in-person transaction and 2.5% for the rest.
Through the app you can manage the device in many ways, be it iPhone or Android. “
What was your smartest move?
That’s a tough question! In my career I’ve been lucky to work for some really interesting companies and organisations that have taken me all over the world. Seizing these opportunities and pushing myself to accept new challenges has certainly been something that has propelled me forward. I have always tried to work in roles that challenge me, and I am always willing to put up my hand and volunteer to take on a task, even if it is out of my comfort zone. So rather than a single smart move, I would say that having a positive attitude and always being up for a challenge has been the single thing that has helped me in my career.
Joining Square in 2016 in order to launch them into the UK, has been both a challenge and an opportunity for me. Having lived and worked in New York, I knew Square was a household name in America, but here in the UK it is relatively unknown. So it’s a great opportunity to tell the story of Square to a new audience, and to bring this well-loved brand to a new audience of small business owners.
Where did things get tough – what was your biggest setback?
Life is full of setbacks. For me, what’s most important is how you react to them and what you learn from them. There’s a theory called ‘Growth Mindset’ which is popular in Silicon Valley.
To briefly sum up the findings: individuals who believe their talents can be developed (through hard work, good strategies, and input from others) have a growth mindset. They tend to achieve more than those with a more fixed mindset (those who believe their talents are innate gifts). So I really try to embrace that and see setbacks as learning opportunities.
Where do you want to be in five years’ time?
In a world that moves as fast as technology, it is hard to predict quite what our business will look like in the future. In five years we want to have a well-established business here in the UK with Square being a familiar sight on countertops across the country. Square’s mission is economic empowerment.
We want businesses of all shapes and sized to be able to use our service and compete on a level footing with their larger counterparts, so I am excited to work with the UK’s small business community to make that a reality.
From a broader corporate and industry perspective I’m actively interested in the work we are doing as a business to attract more women and under-represented minorities into our company and into the high tech industries as a whole. This is something that I care deeply about.
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