Square's device agnostic wireless hardware reaches Canada

Square has launched Square Terminal in Canada in an effort to lure merchants that use myriad iPads, tablets and smartphones to receive payments in stores and remotely.

The Square Terminal has a 24-hour battery, and both WiFi and Ethernet internet connections. That allows businesses to accept payments beyond the countertop, such as at a restaurant table or within a retail store. It also permits card acceptance when internet service is temporarily unavailable.

Cole Burston/Bloomberg

Square Terminal launched in 2018, serving as a more feature-rich option than Square's Reader to counter rivals such as PayPal, Stripe and Toast, which are all adding extended merchant services. Square Terminal includes features to manage inventory, send invoices, record deposits, manage payment history and create business reports.

Square is also hoping to reach small businesses that have not upgraded to modern terminals and continue to rely on using 1980s calculator-style keypad card machines.

Square is charging CAD$299 (about $226) for a limited time, though it did not provide an end-date to the promotion. Square is also providing 0% interest financing for businesses who would prefer to pay for the terminal in monthly installments. Businesses using the terminal will be charged 2.65% fee for contactless, EMV insert and swipe credit card transactions while debit transactions will incur a CAD$0.10 (about $0.08) fee.