Square surpasses 1M merchant milestone

More than a million merchants nationwide now accept credit and debit cards via Square's mobile payment application, the startup announced. "Just as small businesses are growing with Square, we're growing with them: Over 1 million merchants now accept credit cards via Square," the company tweeted. Two months earlier, Square boasted 800,000 merchant partners--by comparison, credit card giants Visa and MasterCard have authorized a combined 8.2 million merchants.

Square, which launched in late 2009, enables small businesses and other users to accept purchases via smartphone or tablet by swiping cards through a small dongle that plugs into the device's audio jack. Square charges a fee of 2.75 percent on each transaction, and promises users no contracts, monthly fees or hidden costs. In October, Square inked an agreement to sell the card reader unit in Walmart stores across the U.S., bringing the number of retail outlets offering the dongle to more than 9,000.

Last month, Square CEO Jack Dorsey revealed that the company is processing $11 million in transactions each day, almost triple the $4 million each day the company quoted in late July. Days later, Square rolled out version 2.2 of its mobile payment application for Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iOS and Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android, evolving beyond payments to introduce loyalty programs that reward customers at the point of sale. Also new in Square 2.2: Merchants may now offer refunds and send receipts for past transactions, customize tip percentage options and search their complete sales history. The Square app for Apple's iPad tablet additionally integrates with the retailer's cash drawer and receipt printer.

Square 2.2 follows on the heels of a revamped version of the startup's Card Case application for iOS, enabling consumers to make purchases and settle tabs without removing their mobile device from their pocket or purse. Card Case leverages location-based service enhancements in Apple's iOS 5 platform update to identify when a user's smartphone is within 100 meters of a participating merchant. Consumers who've opted in to the Card Case service and attached a credit or debit card to their Square account can automatically open a tab with the retailer and pay for the transaction simply by giving their name.

For more:
- read this Square tweet

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