Square Card Reader
The Square card reader is a simple debit/credit card reader with near field communications facility to also support "tap-to-pay" from suitable cards or smartphones using Apple Pay or Google Pay. The card reader has a battery that should last a whole day. The battery can be recharged by:
- plugging in a USB cable and plugging the other end into a USB power adaptor. One of these has been obtained for the Archive.
- docking the card reader in the supplied charging hub which then plugs into a power socket.
To link the card reader to a phone the former must be powered on by holding and pressing the power button on the side. The card reader will attempt to connect with a previously paired Bluetooth phone. If none is within range, four orange LEDs will flash and the card reader can be paired with an Apple iPhone or Android smartphone running the Square App. Search in Settings / Hardware / Card Reader to find and pair with the card reader. Bluetooth will need to be enabled on the smartphone for this to work! We plan to ensure that the card reader is paired with a designated volunteer's phone before each open day.
To take a payment, the amount to be taken should be entered into the Square App. If this is mistyped, there is no backspace/delete key on the App's virtual keyboard. Instead, tap on the bar immediately above the keyboard to access the "clear transaction" function and start again. When the correct amount is entered, tap the "take payment" button and ask the visitor to tap the card reader with their card, or slide it into the card reader to use "chip-and-pin". In the latter case, the App will prompt for the user to enter their PIN and you will need to hand over the paired smartphone for the visitor to type in their PIN. Most people should be familiar with the general process.
