2013 = A new year and a new way to buy Square’s Mobile Card Readers. The device is now available at 7,000 Starbucks cafes locations across the country.
The move is seen as a way of boosting awareness for the highly popular device. The U.S. agreement between Starbucks and Square includes the coffee maker selling Square’s mobile credit card reader for $10.
New users to Square are eligible for a $10 rebate upon signing up, effectively making the reader free.
“Smart”phone Credit Card Reading
The small white plastic square credit card reader inserts into the headphone jack of an iPhone, iPad or Android device.
Developed by a co-founder of Twitter, Jack Dorsey’s brainchild works in conjunction with Square’s app to allow anyone, who provides a service or has a business to accept credit card payments.
The San Francisco-based startup is a mobile payment processor which allows users to select from either a 2.75% per swipe on transactions with no monthly fee, or a flat $275 per month with no fee per transactions.
I’ll Take a Square Reader With My Mocha Carmel Machiatto
Linda Mills, a Starbucks spokeswoman, said selling the reader is just another way Starbucks is supporting Square. Last summer the company said every American Starbucks cafe would accept payments from Square’s payment app, Square Wallet. Additionally Starbucks also invested $25 million in the start-up, and Howard D. Schultz, Starbucks’ chief executive, joined Square’s board.
By selling the readers both companies are hoping to target the numerous customers who are also small business owners and employees. Many of these customers also use the Starbucks cafes as a location to do work or meet with business contacts, further proving the partnership is a highly marketable synergistic one.
January’s new offer from Square at Starbucks come two months after the coffee giant began implementing the tech firm’s mobile app-based payment system called Square Wallet in locations across the nation.
Square’s Strategic Synergy with Starbucks
The iPhone/Android app allows coffee and tea consuming patrons to make their purchase simply by saying their name. In fact, a physical credit card isn’t even needed with this app. The retailer bills the person’s stored credit card account during the purchase process.
The new year seems to be adding another feather in the cap of Dorsey’s mobile card reading service. The added sales from the Starbucks partnership is sure to increase Square’s market share in the increasing digital wallet arena whose competitors include American Express, LevelUP, Google Wallet and others.
