Square discontinues monthly pricing option | Hacker News Reader

Square discontinues monthly pricing option

squareup.com

5 pointstaylorlb3 comments

Why is Square discontinuing monthly pricing?

  We launched a monthly flat rate to offer flexibility in
  pricing for larger businesses. Over the past year we heard
  from many of our customers that caps and limits in the
  program were inhibiting growth—at a certain point, rates
  went back up the more you sold. So, effective February 1,
  2014, we're replacing the Square monthly pricing program
  with one low per-swipe rate for your business.

  We want our pricing to be simple: no more limits or
  complicated monthly caps at all. Just one low, flat per-
  swipe rate for your business.

Really? As a service to your customers you've decided to replace a low but potentially confusing rate with a higher one? I like Square, and was impressed when they announced their flat rate plan, but it's really hard to respect them when they feel they can treat their customers like morons and get away with it.

It's quintessentially a bait & switch. Businesses were lured in with a low flat rate, avoiding interchange rates and now square is pulling the rug and defering the rates back to the business.

For real. Assuming monthly credit charges are evenly distributed from month to month and you max out your allowed credit charges under the flat rate plan, you effective rate is 1.32%. Anything charged in addition to this gets charged at the standard 2.75%. So please tell me how a flat 2.75% is better for the customer? Whoever wrote this press release for Square went about it the wrong way.

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