T-Mobile to small-biz owners: Let's get Square
The carrier will offer Square credit-card readers in select T-Mobile stores around the country.
T-Mobile is getting into the mobile payments business with the help of Square.
The carrier announced today that its small-business customers will be able to get the Square credit card reader at select T-Mobile stores. When the reader is connected to a supported smartphone, the device allows business owners to swipe customer cards and have the money from the transactions automatically deposited into their bank accounts the next business day.
T-Mobile has become the first carrier to offer the increasingly popular mobile payment reader, but unfortunately for the carrier's customers, Square's technology will only be available in a handful of stores in New York, fewer than 10 locations in California, and scattered outlets elsewhere around the U.S.
Square offers its readers to small businesses for free. To generate revenue, the company takes 2.75 percent of each transaction. T-Mobile didn't say today how it will benefit financially from the Square offering, and the carrier did not immediately respond to CNET's request for comment on the matter. It did, however, say that the solution will be "paired" with its small business plans.
T-Mobile's support is the latest bit of good news for Square. In November, the company announced that Virgin Group founder Richard Branson had invested an undisclosed sum in its operation.
"I'm very passionate about helping people start and grow successful businesses, and Square is an incredible technology that inspires and empowers everyone to be an entrepreneur," Branson said in a statement at the time.