Square Arrives in Canada

You are useless in Canada without Interac (debit, but not really from a US POV [1]). This is the number one choice of payment in Canada. Hell, I don't even <i>carry</i> cash anymore because Interac is near universal.<p>It's going to be difficult to gain traction for Square if they are offering businesses a solution that only provides half of what the competition does, even if it is cheaper.<p>Square has - unless they know something they aren't saying - massively misunderstood the reality of the marketplace in Canada. It is not the US with funny tax laws. In the realm of consumer banking/payment, we are light years ahead of the US in certain key ways.<p>1. In Canada, our bank/atm cards are our debit cards. The entire system is linked with a joint network called Interac. When you open a bank account you get a chip/PIN enabled card that allows you to make direct withdraws from ATMs, as well as instantly buy something from a terminal at a store. Credit Card providers are shut out of this system, and its 100% penetration with Canadian banks has made it the primary consumer choice for payments. Yes, security is a bit of an issue, hence the high rate of chip adoption in Canada. See: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interac" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interac</a>

What is really amazing is to launch a website this big and have a typo right on the front page. "Sains frais" just means nothing. My guess is they wanted to say "Sans frais", which is "without fee". Nobody speaks French at Square ?!

Some of the comments criticising stripe-only and lack of Interac support, seem a tad hyperbolic.<p>While these are valid concerns, Stripe transactions are still accepted and I'm sure there's a decent chunk of places using stripe. By the time chip is universal, I'm sure Square will have addressed this shortcoming. As for Interac, I'm presumig that the expansion to Canada will also include the Starbucks partnership, so I imagine it can't be far behind.<p>The regulatory environment is much different in Canada. The biggest thing I see here is the fact that a startup with significant attention and traction is entering our market. When they partnered with Starbucks, I was curious if that would mean they would provide coverage across North America and it definitely looks like they are. In the short term, I think Square Wallet is the key takeaway here. Mobile payments are gaining some serious steam and Square has a big chance to establish an early lead.

Someone should tell Square that in Canada we use smart chips...I don't remember the last time I swipe a card....Cool product with prehistoric technology...

What would be amazing is if they started taking Interac as well.

Impressive that Square can launch in Canada while much of Google's offerings apparently can't.

Does anybody know how they deal with the smart chips on the credit card? Almost no retailer uses the swipe anymore.

Square's company motto: Don't be Oval.

Canada is nice and all, but what about us Australians? There is no alternative payment provider to a bank other than using "Paypal Here" (which launched a few months ago). Eftpos absolutely dominates retail transactions here, I think a competitor needs to step up because my understanding is Eftpos fees are quite high for a retailer here.

So far I've attempted two different forms to mail me a Square reader in Canada and both failed.<p>The first (presented immediately after registering) required me to provide a Zip code (and wouldn't accept a postal code) and the second (found through account settings) allowed me to provide a postal code but required I select a state (and only presented US states in a drop down).<p>Clear examples of common localization issues. Hope they get it sorted out so maybe, one day, I could actually use Square in Canada...

Embarrassingly, square.ca is rather... bare at the time of posting.<p>I am super excited for this, though. I have a number of friends who sell artwork at various outdoor fairs, and I've inundated them with tales of how much easier theirs lives would be if they could get a credit card reader for their phone. It really reduces the friction involved in trying to make what is essentially a several hundred dollar impulse purchase.<p>edit: Is it just me, or are all the thinks in the press release broken? squareup.ca, square.ca, squareup.com/ca/ca/fr, none of these work.

Very very very poor french translation.

There's also Kudos:<p><a href="http://takekudos.com/" rel="nofollow">http://takekudos.com/</a><p>which seems to do the same thing as Square. Anyone used both services and is willing to compare them? Kudos seems to be slightly more expensive ($50 signup + higher swipe fees).

What advantages does Stripe have over Intuit's GoPayment (<a href="http://www.gopayment.ca/Intuit" rel="nofollow">http://www.gopayment.ca/Intuit</a>)? Intuit's rates are actually lower (albeit by only .05%).

Anybody notice that www.square.ca has been hijacked? I have it redirecting to a page with an iframe from areasnap.com . I have tested this on two different networks near Vancouver.

Please, come to Europe.

Looks to only be Visa/MasterCard, not American Express. Any idea if Square is looking to add Amex support in Canada?

I chuckled a lot at this headline.

We want Square in France too!