X

Square to sell credit card reader at Walgreens, elsewhere

The company makes its Square Card Reader available for purchase in 10,000 more stores in hopes of adding to the 1 million merchants who have already bought the reader and are using the service.

Donna Tam Staff Writer / News
Donna Tam covers Amazon and other fun stuff for CNET News. She is a San Francisco native who enjoys feasting, merrymaking, checking her Gmail and reading her Kindle.
Donna Tam
 
Square

Business owners looking to turn their mobile devices into credit card machines can now purchase the Square Card Reader at Walgreens, Staples, and FedEx stores across the U.S., according to a Market Wire press release.

The card reader enables anyone with a mobile device, like a smartphone or a tablet, to accept credit card payments.

Square, the company that makes the Square Card Reader, announced today that the technology is now sold in more than 7,000 Walgreens stores, 1,500 Staples stores, and 1,500 FedEx Office stores, making the product available at more than 20,000 retail locations total.

The card reader, which has a suggested retail price of $9.95 with a $10 rebate upon signup for new users, plugs into the headphone jack of an iPhone, iPad, or Android device. Credit cards can then swiped in the device and processed. The company charges 2.75 percent per swipe for Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express.

Launched in 2010, the company boasts more than 1 million customers. People can also buy the device at Apple, Best Buy, OfficeMax, Radio Shack, Target, UPS, and Wal-Mart.