Open the Square app and navigate to Settings>Hardware>Square Card Readers. Once you’ve reached this point, click the power button on the card reader, triggering it to enter pairing mode.

Once you sign in to your Square account, click on your name and select "Get a Card Reader" from the list of options. Enter your shipping address and submit the form.

You can start using Square with its free, quarter-sized card reader that connects to smartphones. Clover doesn’t offer any free hardware options, and its card reader alone costs $199.

Q: I’m using a Square credit card reader that attaches to my smartphone, but I’m finding that the transactions don’t always go through properly. Is there a certain smartphone or cellular service ...

This is marginally more expensive than Square’s current rates. The reader will also accept both the old-style magnetic-stripe bank cards, and the new security-focused EMV chip cards.

Now, they can’t hold that over Square. The added circuitry does mean higher costs, but it’s unclear how much. The battery alone adds 15 to 25 cents in costs.

Think of the Square Reader as an argument for ruthless simplicity. "It's iconic, it's simple, it does exactly what it's supposed to do and nothing more." Or so says Jesse Dorogusker, head of ...

Square’s newest version of its Square Stand payment terminal has a payments reader built right in. The stand lets businesses slot in an iPad so it can be used as a point-of-sale device, but the ...