Square Now Available On iPhone and Android

When Square launched in a very private beta last December, it blew minds across the blogosphere. If you don't know what Square is, it's a mobile payment platform for everyone. Since then, I've been privileged to be on of the beta testers. I've used Square on the iPhone for a few months, and Square on the iPad and Droid for less than one, and I have to say, the level of polish that has been put into this platform is really stirring.

As of Tuesday of this week, Square is now available and open to the public. Existing users, you can download the iPad, iPhone, and Android (Droid, Nexus One, Incredible only) apps from their respective markets right now, for free. Sign up for an account straight from your device, and hang tight while they send you a card scanner. Once you get it, start swiping away.

They did make some modifications to the structure of the system, though, between beta and launch. The aesthetics have changed to reflect the guerilla style of solution Square represents. The backgrounds and buttons are now gritty like they are on the site. And, the percentage-per-transaction now depends on whether the card was swiped(2.9%) or not(3.5%). Both are still reasonable. They also included the option to process a cash transaction, which is helpful for tracking purchases from a small business perspective.