Etsy’s new CEO found another way to streamline operations – the marketplace will retire its own credit card reader in favor of a deal with Square. Josh Silverman took over in May after Chad Dickerson’s ouster and is forsaking Etsy’s “build-everything” approach in favor of outsourcing.
That includes its move to the cloud. Etsy is transitioning its website to Google’s Cloud Platform in a move expected to take two years.
Etsy had launched its own branded credit card reader in 2014, announcing it would allow sellers to accept credit and debit card payments in person. “Our free Sell on Etsy Reader works in conjunction with our significantly updated Sell on Etsy app on iOS and Android to process credit card transactions and record cash sales made in person,” it had written at the time. “The reader gives sellers another tool to grow their creative businesses beyond their online Etsy shops and allows buyers to find and buy unique items with a story anywhere they see the Etsy brand, online and offline.”
On Tuesday, Etsy announced it was retiring its own reader on March 31st. The integration with the Square card reader is now available for US sellers who currently have an Etsy reader and eventually to all US and Canadian sellers.
“We’ve even made it easy for you to sync your Etsy inventory to the Square app, so you can be up and running in time for your next in-person selling event. As a bonus, Square will reimburse new users’ processing fees on up to $1,000.00 of sales processed during their first 180 days after signing up for Square.”
Etsy opened a discussion thread to answer questions about the news.
SOURCE: Etsy Announcement
