Jack Dorsey, the chief executive and co-founder of social media network Twitter is in Australia for the first time to promote Square, his mobile payments tech business.
The visit comes after Square launched its flagship device Square Reader in Australia last month, a device billed as the smallest, most mobile and most affordable card payment reader for small businesses. The reader plugs into the headphone jack of a mobile phone or tablet, allowing business owners to accept payments anywhere. And at $19 and a fee of 1.9 per cent per transaction, Dorsey says it has been designed with the needs of a variety businesses in mind, from cafes to bars, tradies to photographers, food trucks to market sellers, retail stores and many more.
“We’re empowering local sellers with the tools they need to start, run, and grow their businesses. Our launch in Australia is an important step for our company and an exciting moment for a market so committed to innovation and an entrepreneurial small business community,” the Californian-based CEO said.
Since 2009, the company has processed tens of billions of dollars in transactions from millions of businesses across the world through its card reader. Locally, the company launched its first product, Square Register, in November 2014, and later opened its Melbourne headquarters in May 2015, led by Country Manager Ben Pfisterer.
“Australia has always been an exciting market for Square to launch in with roughly 2 million SMBs, high smartphone and tablet adoption, and a strong entrepreneurial and startup community. Local sellers have demonstrated an enthusiasm to adopt new and innovative payment solutions and Square Reader will build and complement this enthusiasm and extend it to more business owners around the country,” Pfisterer said.
“In Australia, the rate paid by businesses to accept card payments can be incredibly confusing and vary greatly, depending on the size of your business, card type and length of your contract, and almost always involves hidden fees. Sellers using Square Reader pay only 1.9 per cent per card transaction, and this is the first time Australia is seeing one low, single rate for a powerful ecosystem of tools—from integrated card payments to a powerful point of sale, analytics and reporting tools, inventory management, online invoices and digital receipts. We’re excited to remove all the complexity that comes with accepting card payments and offer Australian businesses the tools to be innovative and provide an enhanced customer experience.”
Today, Square Reader is available at over 490 Officeworks, Apple and Bunnings stores across Australia.
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