You would be hard-pressed to find a business owner who isn’t familiar with the famous credit card reader that was created by Square a few years back, and concept behind Square Register is all but a household name at this point. Now, Square is using its big name and trendy product to help (RED) in the fight against AIDS with a new edition of its card reader. Dubbed “SQUA(RED)”, anyone interested in contributing to the cause can get their hands on one for a $10 donation. Available in the limited edition color red, 97.25% of the $10 donation to get a SQUA(RED) credit card reader will go towards the fund to fight AIDS. Additionally, the receipts that are emailed to your customers when you use SQUA(RED) will automatically include a link for an extra donation if they wish to help as well.
The premise of this campaign is that Square prides itself on helping millions of small businesses and individuals grow their business, and now they want to use their success and reach to help people struggling in the fight against AIDS. By empowering their retail users to reach out to their local community and help in this fight, they can transcend from a corporate powerhouse to a good steward of the world at large.
This isn’t the first time that Square has released a specially branded version of their credit card reader. In 2011, Square teamed up with Vivienne Tam to design a card reader to benefit the Happy Hearts Fund; an organization which aims to improve children’s lives through educational and sustainable programs in natural disaster areas. Similarly to the SQUA(RED) reader, all the proceeds from the $10 donation went directly to the fund.
It seems as though corporate philanthropy is a recurring trend with Square, and one would likely expect to see more of the same in the future. It is hard to know exactly how effective this latest campaign to fight AIDS will be since it hinges so much on the participation of retailers using the special edition card reader to send out receipts with donation links and the reception customers give the links with donation money. One thing is for sure, the fact that Square is trying is worth applause regardless of the results.