GoPayment on an iPhone (left) and Square on an Android-based Motorola Atrix (right) Square’s Android and iOS apps look identical, as do the GoPayment apps. The Mophie case gave me the most reliable scans, better than either audio-jack reader did. I also tested a Mophie case for iPhone 3G with a built-in scanner ($80). For $219, Intuit sells a desktop scanner that connects over Bluetooth and includes a built-in printer for receipts. Square offers only the small audio-jack scanner, but with the GoPayment system you have more options. The only way for me to use the GoPayment app on my phone would be to key in the numbers manually, which takes longer and comes with a higher fee. In my tests the app recognized the scanner, but failed to read any data coming in. This Mophie case for iPhone has a built-in scanner that works with Intuit’s GoPayment app.Intuit’s list of supported hardware is much shorter than Square’s, however, and doesn’t include my phone, a Motorola Atrix running Android. I had more success getting it to read cards in fewer tries. It also offers less resistance, so cards glide through. It comes in a plastic case with a lanyard already attached. The Intuit GoPayment reader is larger and has a much longer slot for swiping a card. I’ve been keeping my reader in the foam holder it shipped in, so that it doesn’t get lost in my bag. You can attach a lanyard or key ring to the device, but it doesn’t come with one.
The compactness of the Square Card Reader also makes it harder to keep track of. For some of the cards I tested, reading often took several swipes the worn card never did scan, and I had to enter the number manually. I also wasted valuable time running and rerunning a worn-out card while a student waited for his lesson to start.
The tiny size of the reader makes it more difficult to hold steady while swiping. GoPayment scanner (left) and Square reader (right)Square’s reader is small but sturdy, about the size of a quarter. I’ve been testing both tools in my own business as a freelance musician and private violin teacher for a few weeks now, and in this article I’ll outline my findings.