# Credit Card Sales -there's a Phone App for that these days. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 1, 2015, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-card-sales-theres-a-phone-app-for-that-these-days/729652 "2015-09-01T23:34:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2015, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-card-sales-theres-a-phone-app-for-that-these-days/729652/21 "2015-09-02T19:45:30Z")
Square is often used by vendors at SF conventions. The scanner is free from the website (you can buy it in various electronics places; you’re credited the price of the scanner in your account when that’s set up). I use it when I sell my books. It’s very convenient to be able to take credit cards, and Square’s cut is very reasonable. ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-card-sales-theres-a-phone-app-for-that-these-days/729652/22 "2015-09-03T00:16:57Z")
Why buy an expensive credit card terminal when you can build your own, for free? Anyway, who still swipes their credit cards? Those things all have a chip now! ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-card-sales-theres-a-phone-app-for-that-these-days/729652/23 "2015-09-03T00:38:10Z")
Let’s say you really could build your own credit card terminal “for free” (although I don’t see how you can do this if you need any actual hardware). How are you going to process the credit card transactions? That’s part of what you get with a credit card terminal. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-card-sales-theres-a-phone-app-for-that-these-days/729652/24 "2015-09-03T01:20:38Z")
America really needs to move away from the check game. Or “cheque”, as I would spell it. What a clumsy and unwieldy way to pay for things. I haven’t written a cheque in over 15 years, and not even seen one in about 12 years. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-card-sales-theres-a-phone-app-for-that-these-days/729652/25 "2015-09-03T06:36:48Z")
I actually have several of these devices (that were sen’t to me for free from various apps/processors) sitting around collecting dust. I mostly use Paypal. I’ve had 1 transaction go through Square, and that was online. It’s good to have the card readers in case I ever do have an in-person requirement but I mostly operate through online subscriptions. I’ve been seeing these for years while out shopping or browsing, especially at temporary events, seasonal markets, etc. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-card-sales-theres-a-phone-app-for-that-these-days/729652/26 "2015-09-03T06:52:15Z")
Yea paypal has been pushing one of these readers on me for years, but most of my sales are through the internet so I don’t need it. I got in a situation like the OP when I discovered edible metal balls, I was fascinated and awed but my wife was like what come on they have had these for decades how can you never have known of this lol. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-card-sales-theres-a-phone-app-for-that-these-days/729652.md?page=1)