Will Square reader work on Macbook or Windows laptops, PCs or desktop computers?

[LSorbello]

Hi all, I purchased my wife a new Apple MacBook M1 2020 because Apple said iPhone and iPad apps will run natively.  My wife has desperately wanted a Mac but seemed excessive to have iPad and Mac in her eyelash office.  I thought, perfect, Mac can be productive and she can do her payments !!  Wrong.. Apparently app developers can opt out of having their apps available on the new Mac..  Please Square tell me your only temporarily blocking the app from being available because you want to make sure it works right first or something ???  Pleeeeasssse ...

[Seamus · Accepted solution]

Hey @LSorbello,

Thanks for reaching out.

At the moment our Point of Sale app and card readers will only work on mobile devices listed as compatible on iOS or Android.

Because Square is used as a merchant processing terminal, the PCI compliance rules we need to adhere to are very strict. PCs, Macbooks, laptops and other computers use vastly different operating systems that don't adhere to existing security protocols for things we need to process payments securely (eg PIN on Glass).

Sorry I couldn't be of more help here! It may be worth checking if you have a phone or tablet that can run Square POS and connect to our readers. Keep in mind you can still manually key card transactions on a computer via Virtual Terminal - you just won't be able to connect the reader or run the POS app.  

[belindavz]

Hi Seamus,

Has this been resolved yet as i just purchased a new square reader today but I can't seem to find how to connect to my macbook pro.  I don't want to have to go out and buy more hardware, that was the point in buying the square card reader in the first place.  I have seen other businesses run using their macbook direct to square reader but I can't seem to find the information on how to connect it.

You're help is needed.

Thank you

Belinda

[Seamus]

Hey @belindavz,

Thanks for reaching out!

Sorry for any confusion here! Square's Point of Sale app and card readers are actually not or haven't ever been compatible with desktops, laptops, PCs or Macbooks. This isn't something that's likely to change in the future unfortunately, and at the moment we have no plans to integrate our Point of Sale or card readers with these devices or operating systems. Our readers are specifically built to be used with approved mobile devices with touch screens, which have a very different set of PCI compliance requirements than using a computer to process payments with a physical card would have. You can view mobile devices that Square has tested as compatible with Square Readers here.

We do create various business tools outside of our Readers and Point of Sale apps that can be used via your Square Dashboard on a web browser on a computer or Macbook - we have some tools that allow you to manually key payments through a web browser, or book appointments, send invoices or otherwise manage different sides of your Square account. It sounds like this may be the sort of thing you've seen in the past?

Sorry I can't be of more help here! If you're not going to be able to use the reader, please return it to the place of purchase for a full refund, or if you ordered hardware from our online shop you can find more about returning your order here.

[AnimateHair]

Hi there, been using square on my phone and use the square reader as check out but am getting a new Asus Chromebook and wondering if u can pair the Square READER to an asus chromebook to take contactless payments opposed to using my phone. Thanks in advance

[Seamus]

Hey @AnimateHair,

Unfortunately not - I've moved your post over to this thread that has an explanation on why Square Readers will only work with compatible mobile devices - unfortunately Chromebooks won't work with Square Readers for the same reasons they won't work with Windows/Mac computers.

You would be able to take a manually keyed payment via a web browser though, without the reader/app - read more on Virtual Terminal here.

[Maureen16]

Can you connect the square Reader to a laptop or computer monitor please

[Laurie_]

Hey @Maureen16 welcome to the Seller Community!

At this time, Square Reader cannot connect to a laptop or computer, however, you can pair it to your mobile device or tablet. 

I've gone ahead and merged your post with an existing thread which discusses this further.