“Top 10 Myths about Square”: company blog post challenges critics

Following Amazon’s recent launch of a new mPOS solution, mobile payments rival Square has posted a defensive blog post explaining why “myths” that have been circulating about the company are “totally bogus”.

Reports on the Amazon LocalPay launch earlier this week have inevitably focused on the challenge that the new service poses to Square’s own business. There have also been a number of recent reports claiming that the m-payments startup is struggling to define its strategy  and making huge losses.

The new blog post lists and attempts to debunk the “Top 10 Myths about Square”, including the ideas that its service is more expensive, that its business is struggling and that it has bad customer service.

The post has prompted a number of negative reactions on Twitter from across the industry, including from Christine Cordova, founder of payments startup, Stripe:

 

Here is the Square blog post in full:

 

TOP 10 MYTHS ABOUT SQUARE

There’s a lot of misinformation out there about Square. So let’s set the record straight. Below are ten myths about Square, and why they’re totally bogus.

1. Square is more expensive.
Nope. We charge one low, flat rate for every transaction. With that you get a complete point of sale for free, including inventory management, sales data, invoicing, and an e-commerce solution. If you’re a business with high sales volume, we’ll work with you to design a custom price. And we don’t hit you with hidden fees (see myth #6).

2. Square isn’t secure (PCI-compliant).
We protect your data like our business depends on it—because it does. Square is PCI-compliant. We closely monitor every transaction from swipe to payment. You can read more about how Square is secure on our website.

3. Square has no customer service or phone support.
We’re your partner and always available. Square sellers can contact us via phone, email, or on Twitter whenever there’s an issue. Our Support Center is chock full of articles, tips, and videos.

4. Square is only for small businesses.
We serve the needs of every type of business, from food trucks to 200-location coffee franchises. Square Register offers business-critical tools like inventory tracking, appointments scheduling, and robust analytics to help you streamline your operations.

5. Square’s business is struggling.
Like you, we’re a growing business. You invest in your future, and so do we. We’re well-capitalized and putting our money to good use: investing in people and new products. Reports that we tried to sell the company, or of a delayed IPO? False. We’re here for the long-term.

6. Square hits you with hidden fees.
Square has no hidden fees, and we don’t lock you into a contract. It doesn’t cost more to process one type of card over another. The cost is the same no matter how much you swipe. It’s that simple.

7. Square profits from transaction disputes.
Security is top of mind in everything we do. We’re vigilant about protecting both sellers and buyers, and closely monitor anything that seems odd. We don’t profit from transaction disputes or holds on a customer’s funds while we work to resolve the issue.

8. Square is just a card reader.
We offer a completely integrated set of tools to help you run your business from top to bottom. We’re a rare service in that we connect payments to the rest of your business. You can send digital receipts, manage your inventory, track sales trends, embed online ordering into your website, and even schedule appointments — all in your Square Dashboard. Learn more about Square’s complete register and full suite of products.

9. Square is unreliable.
Square Reader and Square Stand have custom-designed components that make them fast and always reliable for processing payments. If your Wi-Fi goes out or you’re off the grid, just use Offline Mode. We also take care to make our products look as great as they work. Square Reader is the thinnest mobile card reader on the market, and Square Stand just took home a gold prize in the International Design Excellence Awards.

10. Square only works on Apple products.
Square works on iPhone, iPad, and many Android devices. Check out the full list of compatible devices.

Questions? Comments? Concerns? Just get in touch. It’s our mission to make commerce easy. We’re here to help you streamline your operations so you can focus on the fun stuff.

Related reading

Leave a comment