Australian small-business owners can now avail themselves of Square’s personal-payment system, which should make their lives slightly easier. And they could use all the help they can get considering they live in a country whose ecosystem was apparently designed by a comic-book supervillain. But vendors who have been looking for a way to accept credit cards can now breathe a little easier — once they’ve checked their shoes for deadly, deadly spiders.
A notable omission, however, is that Square’s restricting its offerings in that country to the older reader, which only accepts magstripes and chip cards. So unfortunately, our friends down there will have to wait a little longer for Apple Pay.
“With Square Reader in Australia, we’re empowering local sellers with the tools they need to start, run, and grow their businesses,” Square CEO Jack Dorsey said in a press release. “This is an important step for our company and an exciting moment for a market so committed to innovation and an entrepreneurial small business community.”
We understand the slow rollout. Square only announced its Apple Pay compatibility in June, and Australia has only had Apple’s contactless payment system since November. Even so, it only supports American Express — no other credit cards or banks have signed on in that country. And Square is staying pretty mum on when Australia might expect to get the new features.
“We’re currently focused on getting our newest reader, which accepts contactless payments, into the hands of sellers in the U.S.,” a Square representative told us via e-mail. “We have nothing else to share at this time.”
Square’s readers let anyone accept credit-card payments using a free app and a reader that plugs into — or connects wirelessly with — a phone or tablet. Sellers pay 2.75 percent of each sale back to the company in fees.
