If you accept mobile, point-of-sale credit card payments by using something like Square, there are a couple things you need to know:
• As you’ve probably heard, Apple has removed the 3.5mm headphone jack from its new devices. Lenovo has also started doing this and it appears Samsung may do the same. The problem caused by removing the headphone jack is that credit card readers, and many other devices, use the headphone jack.
Sidenote / rant: The reasons why Apple removed the headphone jack aren’t exactly what Apple tried to spin by saying it was an act of “courage.” The move to the proprietary Lightning connector and the concurrent move to USB-C ports (which can accept proprietary restrictions) greatly increase Apple’s control of third-party devices that can connect with Apple products.
This move is expected to generate a lot of money for Apple since third-party manufacturers will have to pay for licensing, pay for Apple’s proprietary MFi chip and other components, and pay a royalty on each and every device they manufacture. By contrast, USB and 3.5mm audio connectors are royalty-free, OS-independent, device-independent and they fall outside of Apple’s control.
And by sheer coincidence, minutes after Apple announced the elimination of the headphone jack, it launched its new $220 AirPods which work without a headphone jack.
At this time, there’s a temporary workaround for Apple devices without a headphone jack: use an Apple Lightning To 3.5mm Headphone Jack adapter. Yes, another adapter, another dongle.
But the problem with this workaround is that the credit card reader will be awkward to use. Instead of being firmly plugged into the mobile device’s audio port, the card reader will dangle in the air.
You’ll need one hand to hold your mobile device, another hand to hold the reader and a third hand to swipe the credit card. If you have larger hands, you could try to balance the mobile device, adapter and card reader in one hand while swiping with the other.
• Businesses that accept payment by card need to support EMV chip cards. These are credit cards and debit cards which have a little computer chip embedded on the front of the card. The magnetic stripe on the back of cards is becoming obsolete. By the way, EMV stands for Europay MasterCard Visa, the three companies that started this system.
Over the past five years, all major credit cards and Interac have gradually changed their fraud liability. If credit card or debit card fraud occurs with an EMV card, the business that accepted payment by card is not liable. But if a fraud occurs from using a magnetic-stripe card then the business is liable.
For photographers, this liability may or may not be a concern. In fact, this liability has already existed in Canada for a few years.
Your photography customers are generally not total strangers. Whether your customer is a corporate business, a communications or marketing agency, a publisher, a bride and groom or an individual, you probably know a little bit about them. Your customers are unlikely to be fly-by-night fraudsters. Your chances of being at the receiving end of a credit card fraud should be very low.
Square has a contactless and chip card reader that accepts EMV cards and NFC payments such as Apple Pay, Android Pay and Samsung Pay. The bad news is: (1) it’s not free like the magnetic stripe reader; (2) it has an internal battery that needs to be charged (you may need a USB adapter for some Apple devices); and (3) it’s not available in Canada. Edit: October 12, 2017: Square’s contactless and chip reader is now available in Canada.
• If you accept mobile payments, you will have to make changes in the foreseeable future. For now, you might avoid using a mobile device that doesn’t have a headphone jack. Maybe there’ll eventually be a card reader that uses Apple’s Lightning connector. Any other proprietary connectors that other manufacturers may devise will require their own special plugs. By removing a universal port and replacing it with a proprietary plug, Apple has caused a bit of a mess.
