Does Square have a surcharge?

Does Square Have a Surcharge?

Square is a popular payment processing company that offers a variety of services to businesses. One of Square’s most popular services is its payment gateway, which allows businesses to accept credit and debit card payments.

Square’s processing fees are consistent across payment methods, totaling 2.6% plus 10¢ per transaction for in-person sales. However, there is an important exception to this rule. Transactions where the card details are keyed in manually, rather than being swiped or inserted into a chip reader, attract a higher fee of 3.5% plus 15¢ per transaction.

This higher fee is due to the increased risk of fraud associated with manually keyed transactions. When a card is swiped or inserted into a chip reader, the card’s magnetic stripe or chip is read by the device, and the data is encrypted. This makes it very difficult for fraudsters to steal the cardholder’s information.

However, when a card is keyed in manually, the cardholder’s information is not encrypted. This makes it easier for fraudsters to steal the information and use it to make fraudulent purchases. As a result, Square charges a higher fee for manually keyed transactions to offset the increased risk of fraud.

Businesses that process a high volume of manually keyed transactions may want to consider using a different payment gateway that offers lower fees for this type of transaction. However, for businesses that only process a small number of manually keyed transactions, Square’s fees are still competitive.