Square and BOQ partner to deliver point of sale options for small business customers

Square and Bank of Queensland (BOQ) have joined forces to deliver small business more flexible payment options.

From today new BOQ customers signing up for business banking services will receive a free Square reader, giving them instant access to the contactless payment platform. The partnership will also provide the new signups with fee-free processing on their first $1,000 of sales.

Ben Pfisterer, Square’s Australia Country Manager said the partnership is designed as a one-stop shop for time-poor business owners, allowing them to walk into any BOQ and walk out ready to start transacting immediately.

“It’s great to see the bank embracing Square’s technology to add more value to its small business offering. Square’s mobile point-of-sale technology provides small business owners with unparalleled flexibility and simplicity, while significantly reducing the cost and time it takes them to set up,” said Pfisterer.

BOQ General Manager for SME Banking, Greg Pink, said the partnership allowed BOQ to offer its small business customers greater access to payment options when it comes to running their business.

“Partnering with Square means we can offer a simple and more affordable card payment option to our small business customers, helping them to get up and running faster,” Pink concludes.

The partnership for Square follows its announcement in May that it would be building out an engineering hub in Melbourne, its first outside North America.

Launching in Australia with its original card reader in 2016, Square revealed last May that it had more than 60,000 businesses using one or more of its products; Pfisterer said in May that the number of local businesses using Square has since increased 150 percent.

With the BOQ partnership set to help boost these numbers further, a number of Australia’s other banks have been exploring different technology to help their small business customers take payments.

Payments app Beem It launched in May with backing from Westpac, Commonwealth Bank, and NAB.

At its core a local version of Venmo, the app allows users to send each payments and requests for payment, while also allowing businesses to accept payments.

Image: Ben Pfisterer. Source: Supplied.