No. Square doesn't take card payments in New Zealand, and its own help centre says so plainly. If you were hoping for Square's free, simple set-up, there are NZ systems that do the same job and work with the EFTPOS terminals Kiwi customers actually use.
Below is what Square says, why an imported reader won't get you round it, and what to use instead.
What Square says about New Zealand
The countries Square supports for card payments
Square's help centre puts it in one line: "Card payment acceptance with the Square app is currently available in the US, Canada, Australia, Japan, the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, France and Spain. We currently don't support payment card processing outside of these countries."
Eight countries. New Zealand isn't one of them, and we found no Square statement about launching here.
Why an imported Square reader won't help
It's tempting to buy a reader in Australia and bring it home. Square's rules close that door twice:
- "You must be located in the country where you activated your Square account to process payments."
- "Square's hardware is only approved for use in the country for which it is intended."
Square also says you can't change the country of an existing account. So an Australian account and an Australian reader don't become a New Zealand set-up by crossing the Tasman.
Where the "Square works worldwide" idea comes from
In November 2014 Square posted that its free point-of-sale app was "now available worldwide". That's where a lot of forum answers come from. It was about the app, not card payments, and card processing is still limited to the eight countries above. We couldn't confirm whether a new NZ business can register the app today, so treat that 2014 post as history, not a plan.
What NZ businesses use instead
Pick by what you liked about Square in the first place.
If you liked Square's free, simple start
Loyverse is the closest match: the core POS is Free, with paid add-ons if you grow. It doesn't process cards itself. In NZ it sends sales to a terminal through Shift4 (formerly Smartpay), iOS only, so if you're on Android you'll key amounts into the terminal by hand. Read our Loyverse review.
If you want one company for POS and card payments
Shopify POS is the only system we cover that processes cards itself in NZ, at 1.8% per in-person card payment on its Basic plan. That's the most Square-like set-up here: one account, one reader, one bill.
The catch is EFTPOS. Shopify says EFTPOS cards work in NZ only "when they're co-branded with Visa or Mastercard". A plain EFTPOS card, where the customer presses CHQ or SAV, needs a separate terminal. Our Shopify POS and EFTPOS guide walks through the options. Read our Shopify POS review.
If you run a café or restaurant
Hospitality is where EFTPOS cards matter most, so pick a POS that talks to an NZ terminal:
- Lazygrid: NZ$27.60/mo incl. GST, works with Windcave, Eftpos NZ (Verifone), Shift4 (formerly Smartpay). Read our Lazygrid review.
- Bustle: NZ$74.75/mo incl. GST, works with Eftpos NZ (Verifone), Windcave, Shift4 (formerly Smartpay). Read our Bustle review.
- Tabin: NZ$56.35/mo incl. GST, works with Eftpos NZ (Verifone), Windcave, Shift4 (formerly Smartpay). Read our Tabin review.
- Lightspeed: ≈ NZ$112/mo incl. GST (Restaurant Starter, converted from A$79/mo), works with Windcave, Shift4 (formerly Smartpay), Eftpos NZ (Verifone). Read our Lightspeed review.
Our best POS for cafés page ranks them for that job.
If you want a Square-style reader on your phone
A few options are sold for New Zealand:
- Shopify's readers. Shopify lists the WisePad 3 and its POS Terminal for Australia, New Zealand and Singapore.
- Stripe Terminal. Stripe publishes NZ in-person pricing, starting at 2.6% + NZ$0.05 per successful domestic card payment, and its developer docs list New Zealand for the BBPOS WisePad 3 reader. Ask Stripe which of its other readers it ships to NZ. Stripe is a payments company, not a full POS, so you'll need software that supports it.
- Lazygrid with a WisePad 3. Lazygrid sells a Stripe WisePad 3 for NZ$199, or rents one at NZ$50 a week (GST not stated), as a portable reader alongside its POS.
- Tap to Pay on Xero. If you mostly invoice, Xero NZ offers Tap to Pay "powered by Stripe, straight from the Xero Accounting app".
Before you rely on any phone-sized reader, ask whether it takes plain EFTPOS cards, not only Visa and Mastercard.
How NZ card payments differ from the US
This is the real reason a US-built system can feel like a poor fit here.
Most NZ customers carry an EFTPOS card. EFTPOS is our local debit network, separate from Visa and Mastercard. When a customer inserts or swipes an EFTPOS card and picks CHQ or SAV, BNZ and ASB both list no merchant service fee for it. Every one of those sales you push onto a credit or contactless payment costs you a fee instead.
To take those cards, your POS has to work with an NZ terminal provider. The main three are Windcave, Shift4 (formerly Smartpay) and Eftpos NZ (Verifone). "Integrated" means the POS sends the amount to the terminal, so staff don't re-key it and get it wrong at the lunch rush.
- Which POS systems integrate with Windcave
- Which POS systems integrate with Shift4
- EFTPOS terminals in NZ
- Check your POS and terminal combination
Quick comparison
| POS | Price | Integrated EFTPOS in NZ | Xero | Works offline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loyverse | Free | Shift4 (formerly Smartpay), iOS only | Partial | Partial |
| Shopify POS | ≈ NZ$80/mo incl. GST | No built-in NZ EFTPOS integration (available via the paid OrderMate app) | Yes | Yes |
| Lazygrid | NZ$27.60/mo incl. GST | Windcave, Eftpos NZ (Verifone), Shift4 (formerly Smartpay) | Lazygrid says yes | Partial |
| Hike | ≈ NZ$121/mo incl. GST | HikePay, Eftpos NZ (Verifone), Windcave | Add-on, Plus and up | Yes |
| Lightspeed | ≈ NZ$112/mo incl. GST (Restaurant Starter, converted from A$79/mo) | Windcave, Shift4 (formerly Smartpay), Eftpos NZ (Verifone) | Yes | Yes (Restaurant); Retail not published |
Want the full picture? Compare all seven systems side by side, or work out what a set-up really costs over a year with the true cost calculator.