Freelance photographers usually get paid by cheque and, I suppose, occasionally by cash. Some photographers, including myself, also accept credit card payments through a PayPal account. In this case, the common setup is that the client accesses a web page on the photographer’s site to start the PayPal process.
PayPal just announced its new PayPal Here system that will allow a business to accept credit card payments using a smart phone. This is similar to the up-and-running, two-year-old Square system.
There are differences between PayPal Here and Square but there’s only one difference that matters to Canadian photographers: PayPal Here will be available in Canada and Square is not.
Square says that it’s looking into expanding outside the USA but it’s been saying that for two years. Perhaps the competition from PayPal will force Square to get moving. [Update October 24, 2012: Square just announced that it’s available in Canada.]
Apparently, the Square system is/was capable of being used for credit card fraud. The PayPal Here card reader is encrypted.
For professional photographers, accepting credit card payments on location could be a big help. Some business customers and government clients can pay on-the-spot with a corporate credit card. But not being able to accept credit cards on location means the photographer has to send an invoice and wait up to several months to get paid.
Update March 18, 2013: PayPal Here is still not available in Canada.
