Author Page for Melissa Johnson

In the market for a mobile processing app and card reader? See how Square POS and SumUp compare in terms of pricing, features, customer support, and more.

Accepting payment via American Express has long been a challenge for merchants; it used to require working with Amex directly, and the card fees were greater than what you’d pay for Visa or Mastercard. However, thanks to the OptBlue program, since 2014 American Express has offered a viable way for small businesses to accept Amex […]

If you have never encountered a credit or debit card with a chip embedded in it, you’ve probably been living under a rock for the past 3-4 years. In which case, you’ve got an awful lot to catch up on and we’ll come back to chip cards after you’ve covered the important stuff. However, if […]

The Swift B250 card reader, available with the SwipeSimple mobile app, is an all-in-one reader (meaning it accepts swipe, chip, and contactless/NFC transactions) available for a very reasonable price. The mobile app is solid, providing all of the features you need to take payments on the go, plus a little bit of extra value.

Pros Higher starting limit than Square Cash Free to use Live phone support available Instant transfers available Cons Social element may not appeal to everyone Only available in the US Overview My mobile wallet of choice is PayPal, and has been for years. To be honest, Venmo has only appeared on my radar in the […]

Square Terminal combines Square’s mobile POS app with an integrated card reader, all in a compact handheld device. Check out our in-depth review to see if it’s really worth the investment.

ShopKeep and Square offer features for cafes and specialty shops, plus free software plans and affordable in-house payment processing for small businesses. See how they stack up and which is right for you!

I’ll be honest. Excluding trips to the grocery store, I’m always a bit surprised when I see a business with a clunky old POS. I just about cringe when I see one of the really old systems. And maybe that’s because my job is reviewing mobile processing apps, but in 2018 there’s really no reason you […]

Overview I thought, for a long time, that PayPal was invincible, a behemoth that couldn’t be taken down by anyone, and certainly not by an underdog like Square. I’m a lot less sure of that these days, because it’s hard to call Square an underdog when it’s a huge company in its right. And Square […]

Pros Supports all-in-one payments Bluetooth connection Solid design Charging dock available Cons Expensive compared to other options Overview in February 2018, PayPal introduced two new (and affordable) readers to its lineup of PayPal Here-compatible hardware: its entry-level Chip and Swipe Reader and the full-featured Chip and Tap Reader. Both are EMV-enabled so that you can […]