Can you use Square in the Bahamas?

[ej010]

Hi I am a Bahamian interested in using square card readers in local stores in the bahamas. The idea is to offer local businesses a package. Is there anyway that i can get this idea off the ground? Our local banks issue visa cards and mastercards. There exists bank of the bahamas BOB, Commowealth Bank, Scotiabank, and The Royal Bank of Canada. 

Does sqare accept these cards?

Will your card readers work in my country?

If not, why not? Which hurdles must I clear to get this operational?

Please and Thank you,

Eulond Kelly III

[Sean · Accepted solution]

@ej010- Welcome to the Seller Community, and thanks so much for your interest in using Square! As for your quesiton, we don't currently provide credit card processing services in the Bahamas, but it would be awesome if we did! You're welcome to use the Square app to track keep track of your sales, but you'll have to use a different credit card processor to accept cards. 

I'll be sure to pass your interest along to our product liaison team! I'll also update this thread if anything changes in the future. 😎 🌴  🌊  

PS) If my answer solved your problem, would you mind marking it as "Best Answer"? That'll help the rest of the community find what they're looking for. If not, just write back, and I'll continue to help. Thanks!

[mojo]

Our Square account is linked to our NY bank account, Sean. Our brick and mortar and online businesses            are based in Suriname, Guyana and Trinidad in the Caribbean. Would we be able to accept payments from customers with international debit or credit cards in those three markets? Would Square Chip Card and

Contactless Readers function in those markets?

[EJ_]

@mojo In order to process card payments, you'll need to be located in the compatible country that you activated your Square account in.

You can definitely accept international payment cards, however you won't be able to process payments while located in any country other than your accounts activation country. 

The Square Contactless and Chip Card Reader will only work in the U.S. 

[STX]

You say it will only work in the US, will square work in the US Virgin Islands as well?

[Russell]

Hey @STX 👋🏻

You can use the global version of Square Point of Sale in the Virgin Islands, but credit card processing is only available in the 50 US states, Canada, Japan, the UK, and Australia at this time. 

[STX]

Ok, thank you. Any idea if / when it might become available? Also, would you be able to process from there if using a mainland bank (like bank of america or regions, etc?) Trying to help those with businesses effected by Maria. Thank you.

[Russell]

We don't have a timeline to share for expanding credit card processing to the Bahamas. Since credit card processing regulations differ in each nation, it isn't possible to set up an account in one nation and operate business in another. 

I definitely recommend finding a credit card processor located in the Bahamas if credit card processing is something you need for your business there. 👍

[EveG]

What if you are American and you have a bank account in US that collects the charges but you ran the small bussiness outside US?

[VanKalkerFarms]

@EveG Square POS uses your GPS to determine that you are inside of the territory that you are approved to accept payments in.  That being said the account will work perfectly in the 509 united states but once outside those borders it will not be able to process payments.