Square offers a powerhouse suite of payment processing and small business direction tools. With transparent fees, a full assortment of payment options and streamlined sell-anywhere features, it's no wonder Square has few rivals. Thank you to its beginner-friendly design, learning how to utilise Square to process credit cards takes only minutes. You can outset accepting payments immediately after y'all set up your new Square business relationship.

What Is Square?

Square is a cloud-based service-as-a-software (SaaS) solution that packs payment processing, online and in-person sales, invoicing, business management and much more than into 1 streamlined, economic organisation.

Y'all can apply Square to process credit cards, plus accept an array of other payments, including automated clearing house (ACH) cheque payments, Apple tree Pay, Google Pay and Cash App Pay to name a few. Square besides lets you accept payments anywhere. Its mobile and retail betoken-of-sale (POS) software supports in-person and in-store sales and online tools support eastward-commerce stores, online service providers, online invoices, keyed-in payments and more.

Square accounts have no monthly fees or long-term contracts, and you tin cancel at any time without penalty. So, for about users, the only ongoing price of using Square is your payment processing fees.

Square does offer paid add-ons, such every bit payroll, electronic mail marketing, and advanced POS systems for retail and food service. These add monthly costs but are even so very competitive with other small business POS systems, especially when yous gene in all the complimentary tools Square delivers.

Foursquare's Payment Options

Square's versatile payment system lets you procedure credit cards for all types of mobile, in-store, online and virtual transactions. Yet, that's one of the many payment options that Square supports.

Here's a list of the various payment options you tin offer to customers when yous apply Square:

  • Credit and debit cards. Accept card payments anywhere using Square—online via e-commerce stores, online invoicing, remote payment links and keyed-in payments and in-person using the mobile POS app card reader or in-store POS checkout.
  • Mobile wallets payments. Accept Apple tree Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay in person using contactless card readers and online in your Square Online due east-commerce store.
  • Greenbacks App. Take Cash App payments via Square POS contactless card readers, remote payments links and the Foursquare Online due east-commerce store.
  • ACH payments. Offer clients a secure way to pay invoices straight from their bank account with Square's ACH payments.
  • Recurring payments. Ready upward automated recurring payments for invoices, subscriptions or memberships using credit card or ACH payments.
  • Gift cards. Offer customers both due east-gift cards and standard souvenir cards and track gift carte sales and balances.
  • Buy now, pay later. Let customers finance their purchases using Afterpay through Square. Y'all get paid immediately and your client tin can pay over fourth dimension.
  • Cash. Tape cash sales in your Square POS app and dashboard.
  • Paper checks. Tape newspaper check sales in your Square POS app and dashboard.

Foursquare's Credit Carte Processing Fees

Foursquare has transparent, easy-to-understand payment processing fees based on how the auction is made and the type of payment used.

How To Become Started With Foursquare

Going from sign-up to accepting payments takes just minutes with Square. In fact, once you've set up a free Square business relationship, yous can outset processing payments right away using several online and keyed-in payment methods—even earlier your card reader arrives.

Before You Brainstorm

Square requires the following information to open an account. Having this handy will speed up the process:

  • Total legal proper name. Square requires the account holder'due south full legal name, adding a business proper noun is optional.
  • Social Security number. Foursquare requires the account holder's Social Security number; business organization employee identification numbers (EIN) are optional.
  • Bank account. You'll need a bank business relationship to receive Square payouts. This can be a personal or business account, or you can set upward a new Square banking concern account during registration.
  • Date of nascence. Due to credit card regulations, Square applicants must exist eighteen years of age or older.
  • Home mailing accost. Square requires the account holder'due south home mailing address; business addresses are optional.
  • Cellphone number and email address. Needed for account and mobile POS app setup; can be your personal or business phone number and electronic mail.

Ready Upwards Your Square Account

Foursquare makes sign-up incredibly unproblematic with a footstep-by-step wizard. In the wizard, you select an private or business business relationship, enter your address and the last four digits of your Social Security number and choose how you'll sell and take payments. You tin can cull to adhere your bank account or open a new Foursquare depository financial institution account to receive your payments during setup, likewise. These preferences tin can be edited in your Square dashboard Settings tab as needed.

Explore Your Square Dashboard

To start using Square to process credit cards, head to your Foursquare dashboard, shown below. Here, you can start accepting payments right away using iii tools in your dashboard—the Virtual Terminal, Invoices and Payment Link.


Within your Foursquare dashboard, you tin continue fine-tuning your business concern information, add client or production information and start exploring all that Square has to offer.

Download the Square POS App

Next, visit the app store on your phone or tablet and download the Square POS app. After you sign in with your Square account login and password, yous'll have access to Square's POS sales and credit card processing tools inside your mobile device.

Order Your Square Menu Reader or Register

To use Square to procedure credit cards in person, you'll need a card reader or register. Square provides ane free mobile magstripe credit card reader with every business relationship. You can also purchase a contactless bill of fare reader or concluding with receipt printer for mobile sales or choose from various register options for a retail store setting.

five Means To Use Foursquare To Procedure Credit Cards

With your Foursquare account gear up upward, y'all're ready to start processing credit cards and other types of payments using the tools in your Square dashboard and POS app.

one. Use Foursquare'south Virtual Last To Procedure Credit Cards

Square'southward Virtual Terminal lets you key-in credit bill of fare information from phone orders or for in-person sales if you lot don't take a card reader bachelor. To process a credit menu this way, click on Virtual Final in your Square dashboard and select Take a Payment to create a new sale.


Complete the appropriate charge corporeality and payment type fields and click Charge and your payment is complete.

ii. Use Foursquare Invoices To Receive Payments Online

With Square Invoices, you can accept both credit cards and ACH payments immediately upon account sign-up. To process payments using invoices, click on Invoices in your Square dashboard, complete the blanks in the invoice fields, select the available payment options for the invoice, enter your client information and email address and click Transport.


Your client volition receive an emailed invoice with a link to complete the payment online using 1 of the selected payment methods.

3. Use Square's Payment Link To Process Credit Cards

Payment Link is another manner to apply Square to process credit cards. This sends a payment request to a client via a text link. Payment Link is a payment method in the Virtual Terminal. Instead of keying in a payment directly, select Send Payment Link, enter your client's cell phone number and click Send Link.


The text link opens the secure Square Online Checkout. At that place, clients can choose to pay with a credit or debit card or via Google Pay, Apple Pay or the Cash App.

4. Use the Square POS App To Process Credit Cards

One time installed on your mobile device, you tin can use Square's POS app to process credit cards by keying the card information direct into the app or using a Square card reader or register to capture card data physically.

Most users pair the POS app with a card reader or utilise a retail register to accept credit cards physically, as shown below.

However, the versatile POS app also lets you key-in carte du jour information to procedure mobile payments when needed, as shown below.

five. Procedure E-Commerce Payments

Square supports payment processing for all types of east-commerce stores. If you don't already have an online shop, you lot can launch a free e-commerce website using Square Online. Just add product information to your Foursquare dashboard, ready up your Square Online shop and you're ready to receive orders and process online payments.


If you already accept your own website on WordPress, Wix, BigCommerce, Ecwid or other tiptop ecommerce platforms, you lot tin can connect Square'due south payment gateway seamlessly to procedure credit cards for online sales.

Benefits of Using Square

Foursquare is a streamlined, fully integrated payment and business concern management arrangement that provides a ton of value to startups, small businesses and multichannel power sellers akin.

The principal do good of using Square is that everything, from payment processing, multichannel and mobile POS sales to customer marketing, staff direction and inventory tracking, all works seamlessly in one system.

Foursquare is besides ready to support growth with feature add-ons, such equally payroll, advanced retail inventory, email marketing and gift card programs. These come with monthly fees, withal when added to the boatload of free perks you lot become, Square has few rivals. Learn more in our full guide to Foursquare.

Drawbacks to Square

Foursquare does have a few downsides. Payout holds, account freezes and chargeback bug summit the list of complaints from Square users. If Square deems your business relationship has too many fraudulent charges or chargebacks, it tin withhold payouts or freeze your account. Essentially, this puts your business on agree until the issue is resolved.

Fee flexibility is another complaint amongst Square users. While Square does offer fee discounts to businesses processing more than than $250,000, it still calls the shots on the fees you pay.

Square competitors can provide lower payment processing rates, specially at college sales volumes. However, few competitors offer an equivalent suite of business management features and sales tools. The cost of piecing together services and software to duplicate Square's toolset should exist included in any cost comparison.

Bottom Line

Foursquare is a convenient and economical manner to procedure credit cards for both in-person and online sales, simply that just scratches the surface of all that Square has to offer. Square's impressive suite of payment, sales and business organisation direction tools can be tailored to fit the needs of about any startup, side gig or pocket-size business concern. There are a few downsides to using Square, however, its reliability, ease of use and overall value make it a top contender on any list of pocket-size business payment solutions.

Often Asked Questions (FAQs)

How much does Foursquare charge for credit carte du jour transactions?

Square credit carte du jour processing fees are 2.6% plus 10 cents per swipe, dip or tap for in-person sales, ii.9% plus xxx cents per transaction for online sales and invoice payments and 3.5% plus xv cents per transaction for keyed-in charges using Foursquare's virtual terminal or POS app or card-on-file sales.

Is Square a adept credit card processor?

Square is a meridian credit card processing provider for startups, side gigs and minor businesses. With transparent credit card processing fees, many online and in-person payment options, powerful POS software and gratis sales and business management tools, Square delivers an unmatched value for almost pocket-sized business needs.

Is there a monthly fee for Square?

Square accounts take no monthly fees or long-term contracts, and you lot can cancel at whatever time without penalty. For most Square users, payment processing fees are the only ongoing toll of using Square. Foursquare's POS organisation, online store and essential concern management tools are included for free. However, card readers and retail registers accept a erstwhile cost and account upgrades, such every bit payroll or advanced POS features, can add a monthly fee.