Not too long ago, going through the process of being able to accept credit card payments for small computer businesses was probably a daunting task for most. You would have to set up a merchant account and then buy expensive processing equipment. However, with the introduction of Square<\/a> in 2009, the days of easy credit card payments are finally here, and PayPal just recently launched their own version, called PayPal Here<\/a>, to take on Square. These services allow computer businesses to easily accept credit card payments through iOS and Android devices.<\/p>\n
Both Square and PayPal Here have their own separate advantages, but are also so similar that it can be difficult to decide which one is best for your computer business. Let\u2019s have a look at the two services and see which one would be ideal for you. If, for any reason, you must manually enter in credit card transactions (if you don\u2019t have the card reader for instance), both Square and PayPal charge a 3.5% + $0.15 fee per transaction. There\u2019s also a $1,000 weekly deposit limit with manual entries. If you go over $1,000 for any given 7-day period, anything over the $1,000 will be held for 30 days before they\u2019re released to your bank account.<\/p>\n However, there will be very few instances where you would manually enter in credit card details. Both Square and PayPal Here offer their readers for free with free shipping, and the accompanying app is free as well.<\/p>\n Customer service is obviously a huge factor when it comes to choosing a product or service. PayPal Here is promising to have both phone and online support 24\/7, but since the service is just launching, it will be a little while before we find out just how good that support will be. As for Square, it hasn\u2019t fared so well<\/a> in the customer service department. Many Square customers have complained about the lack of live and easy-to-reach support. Only time will tell to see if PayPal eithers suffers the same fate or rises above.<\/p>\n Both Square and PayPal Here are great services and there\u2019s nothing about either that would be an extreme deal breaker (unless you\u2019re using Android, for which PayPal Here doesn\u2019t support just yet). However, if you\u2019ve been a loyal PayPal user for some time, choosing PayPal Here would be a good bet, since you\u2019ll already have a wealth of features at your disposal. Plus, PayPal Here offers the ability to accept paper checks using your camera as a scanner of sorts.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re going into it as a complete mobile-payment virgin, Square\u2019s simple user interface makes the product really easy to use and they even have a separate app for the iPad that turns it into a full-fledged, easy-to-use register.<\/p>\n Whatever you choose, may your business flourish with the greatness of mobile-payment technology and let us know how it works out for you when you finally take the dive into the mobile payment pool.<\/p>\n Guest post by Craig Lloyd. Craig has been tinkering with computers for over eight years and is CompTIA A+ certified. For the past three years, he\u2019s been writing about and sharing his love of technology at various websites across the internet.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a9 Technibble – A Resource for Computer Technicians<\/a> to start or improve their Computer Business<\/a>
<\/span>
First off, Square and PayPal Here both charge a transaction fee for credit card swipes. Square charges a 2.75% fee, while PayPal Here charges a slightly lower 2.70% fee. The difference is very minute at first, but it can add up over time if you plan on bringing in a lot of transactions.<\/p>\n
To get started with your own computer business, check out our Computer Business Kit<\/a>.<\/p>\n