Announced just a short time ago, it has been revealed that Starbucks has partnered with Square, who will process all US credit and debit card transactions by this fall across their 7,000 locations. Additionally, Starbucks will be integrating “Square Directory” into its own “apps and digital network, unlocking other Square merchants to Starbucks patrons new and old to Square” as TechCrunch reports.

In a letter by Jack Dorsey (co-founder and CEO of Square), he drew parallels between the small and humble beginnings of both Square and Starbucks. But Dorsey assured other Square merchants that this big deal with Starbucks won’t change Square’s dedication to building “simple, affordable, and fast tools that level the playing field for everyone”.

Square began with a really simple idea: everyone should be able to accept credit cards. It should be easy and free to get set up, it should use simple technology people already own, and, most importantly, it should instantly adapt to any size business—from the person chasing a dream to the largest organization on the planet. By embracing Square, Starbucks has validated these ideas as powerful tools—not just for small businesses, but for smart businesses.

TechCrunch also reports that Starbucks is investing $25 million in Square with CEO Howard Schultz also joing Square’s Board of Directors. You can view the full letter from Jack Dorsey below the break.

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Mobile payments company Square has today stepped up its game of disrupting payment services with its new Square Register app and service. Directly targeted at retailers, merchants and small business owners, this new iPad app is aimed at replacing the old clunky registers and point-of-sale (POS) systems with the infinitely more flexible and appealing iPad accompanied with the Square reader.

“I truly believe POS, as you know it today, is dead,” says Megan Quinn, director of products at Square. “This will bring Square to an entirely new, small-market audience (bricks-and-mortar stores).”

Integrating support for their existing Card Case app, Square Register can recognise when customers arrive at their store, as well as send the Card Case app information about the business for new customers who haven’t been before. The actual app itself has a main transaction screen that lists “favourite” items (this is completely customisable), but if there are thousands of items, that isn’t a problem either because there is also a list view available. The app has support for loyalty programs to reward loyal customers and customers don’t necessarily have to pay by card, with the app also supporting some cash drawers that can be connected up.

For the business owner or manager, Square Register can require a PIN for staff to access certain functions and custom permissions can be given to staff. The service also offers powerful analytical tools with interactive charts so you can view when the store is busiest and what days may be under performing. Square Register is available for free, with the standard 2.75% processing fee for all card transactions processed through Square, just the same as their existing apps.

[via TechCrunch, USA Today]

Square looks set to play a big part in the 2012 US Presidential race, with both the Obama and Romney camps announcing this week that they will be adopting the tool to give their grassroots fundraising efforts a boost. The mobile payments company uses a small accessory that plugs into the headphone jack of an iPhone, iPad or Android phone and works with a companion app to accept payments from credit cards.

The Obama re-election campaign will begin using Square straight away, initially with campaign staffers and “some approved volunteers”. But the ultimate goal is to develop their own Obama Square app that they can distribute on the App Store – allowing anyone to get the app and Square attachment and go around collecting donations. To comply with the Federal Election Commission’s (F.E.C.) rules, the app will need to collect the name, address, city, state, ZIP code, occupation and employer of the contributor, along with contribution size and collection date.

If the Square rollout is successful, and others follow, campaigns could send out armies of volunteers brandishing the Square credit card reader and collecting millions of dollars in micro-payments from political supporters.

The Romney campaign similarly announced today that they will also be trialling Square and likely developing their own, Romney-themed Square app. They will conduct a “beta-test” of the Square app and accessory on Tuesday night’s Florida primary election.

Daniel Rubin, strategic partnerships manager at Square, who works with political campaigns and major nonprofit organizations, said Square was partnering with a number of campaigns to make 2012 the year mobile payments change the way donations are collected on the ground. “It’s now easier than ever to give to campaigns of any political stripe,” Mr. Rubin said. “At a campaign, or any political event, donors will be able to give on the spot. They won’t have to run home and get a check or fill out long paper forms.”

[via The New York Times]

Officially announced by Square in May, the company’s first Card Case app for iPhone is now available for free on the App Store, alongside an update to the official Square app that brings improved transaction speed, new tipping interface, and no signatures for transactions less than $25. Square, the mobile payment service that based its success on iOS apps and a mobile “card reader” that plugs directly into iOS devices’ headphone jack, detailed its plans to take over traditional wallets, credit cards and receipts with two new products, the aforementioned Card Case and Register for merchants.

Card Case is a digital wallet, a separate app available exclusively on the iPhone, that allows users to easily pay at their favorite local merchants with a few taps. By eliminating the need for cash, or real credit cards to carry around in a physical wallet, Card Case lives on the iPhone and collects different tabs associated to a user’s name and currently open at selected merchants. When it’s time to pay, instead of using cash or a credit card, merchants using Square can ask customers for their names, and have the Card Case app take care of the rest. Card Case lets you explore new and nearby places, keeps a list of recent transactions and paperless receipts which are automatically emailed after a transaction. (more…)

Mobile payment company Square teased last weekend they had some big announcements to make this morning. After the 2.0 update to the iPhone and iPad application that hit the App Store earlier today, Square’s Jack Dorsey announced with a live stream event on TechCrunch Disrupt a few minutes ago the next-generation of payment processing for merchants and mobile payments for customers: Square Register and Square Card Case, two new products aimed at revolutionizing the mobile payment scene and the whole concept of digital wallet.

With 500,000 card readers shipped across the United States and $1 billion gross payment volume, Square undoubtedly changed the way people thought of phones and tablets as point of sale units capable of receiving credit card payments with a simple swipe. But Square wanted to go one step further, and allow everyone, merchants and customers, to get rid of cumbersome cash registers, POS devices and wallets altogether by unifying the Square experience into a single software that takes care of the data, personal information, credit cards on file, location, and more. The Card Case is the first step to allow customers to forget about wallets, cash and credit cards to carry around all the time: within a single iPhone application, users are getting access to a virtual wallet that contains place-specific cards to pay, check out products, and get receipts. TechCrunch explains:

Once you’ve downloaded your mobile Card Case, you can fill your case with ‘cards’ of all the merchants you visit and buy from who accept Square. When you click on an individual merchant’s card, you’ll be able to see a map of where the merchant is located, contact information, your own order and purchase history, and receipts with the merchant and a daily live menu of items or services from the merchant. You’ll also be able to see what other customers are buying at the store, and merchants can serve customized offers to specific customers based on their purchase history.

So here’s where things get interesting. In a merchant’s card within the case, you can press a “use tab” button which allows the frequent customer to essentially put a purchase on their virtual tab with Square at the merchant. So once you press that button within two blocks of the merchant, you’ll be able to tell the cashier your name and your card will be charged on the merchant’s backend Square register. Because you are a repeat customer, Square already has your payment information. The purchaser will then receive a push notification when the merchant processes the payment.

The Card Case basically acts as a wallet to keep all the places you frequently visit together and set up tabs so payments will be processed automatically without even swiping a real credit card. In a video reel showcased by Jack Dorsey at the announcement event, a Square user was shown entering a coffee shop, ordering a cappuccino and simply asking the cashier to put it under his name. No swiping necessary, no need to sign any receipt or carry a wallet around — just an iPhone. After a purchase however, the app of course handles virtual receipts emailed or texted to you, so you’ll be able to organize all your expenses and view the places where you spent your money. The concept’s really simple and disruptive from a user standpoint — as long as you have an iPhone and the credit card on file, it’s as simple as walking into a bar and ordering what you want with your name. The software takes care of the rest.

On the merchant’s end, Square has also announced a new product, the Register, which will dramatically improve the way business owners used to deal with POS machines and real cash registers and engage with customers as well. Merchants have always been able with the Square reader to store customers information and send them a receipt via email or SMS; with today’s update, merchants get the possibility to send customers a link to download the Card Case app so next time payments will happen faster, over the air, and with more features to engage with a local shop and nearby places that support Square. Again, it all comes together with the reader used to set up a credit card for the first time, the iPhone app for customers to pay with their mobile device, and the iPad Register for merchants to check out analytics and customer data. From the website:

• Transform your iPad into an elegant point of sale. Customize it with product photos, prices, and sortable categories. Accept cash and credit cards.
• Swipe a card, let customers sign directly on the screen, and send them an email or text message receipt. Customers can add a tip as they sign.
• Know how many cappuccinos you sell each day. Download full reports that give you insight into your sales patterns and inventory.
• Let your regular customers set up a tab right from their phone and pay with their name. Publish your menu and share daily specials.

At this point, it’s clear Square isn’t a cool startup with a neat credit card gadget anymore. Square wants to disrupt mobile payments, bringing merchants and customers together socially, locally, just with software, phones and tablets. Square Register and Card Cases are rolling out today through 50 US merchants in New York City, San Francisco, Washington DC, St. Louis, and Los Angeles.

Square, the mobile payment company that allows you to pay with your credit card on the go by simply swiping it through an iPhone or iPad secure reader, teased some major announcements last week, leading to speculation that the service might have something huge up its sleeve after being featured by Apple multiple times in iPad and iPhone commercials and receiving approval to sell the card reader in Apple’s retail stores. While Square’s Jack Dorsey is stil holding a special announcement at TechCrunch Disrupt in about two hours, it turns out the big new update was a major overhaul of the mobile app, which has just been upgraded to version 2.0 in the App Store.

Square 2.0 brings a refreshed interface on the iPhone (which looks pretty neat from the screenshots) and an entirely new design on the iPad that lets business owners organize items into shelves for “easier browsing.” Alongside other bug fixes, the UI changes seem to be the focus on this new update. Apparently, the new Square is now allowing merchants to easily organize different items with different “variations” (categories, we assume) on these new shelves that should make it easier and faster for customers to select something they want to buy. You can swipe through shelves, add items to the processing queue and, as usual, swipe your credit card to pay. The interface changes on the iPhone make for a more professional-looking, elegant app we’re pretty sure Apple will feature again soon.

From the changelog:

- iPad: Arrange your items into shelves, for easier browsing and faster checkout.
- iPad: Small, medium, large; chocolate, vanilla, strawberry – create variations of your items.
- iPhone: Refined look and feel.
- Minor bug fixes.

Square 2.0 is now live in the App Store. We’re still waiting for other major announcements later today, especially considering the company recently achieved 3 million payments processed every day. Check out more screenshots below. (more…)