Ripping apart a Square Bank Card reader - 25/05/2025

A white square object with a square object in it

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This is a Square bank card reader.

It can accept card payments via:

You connect it to your smartphone, and on the app you can enter an amount to charge. The PIN is also typed in on the smartphone.

I have decided to tear it apart. Since it is glued you must pry the bottom part off from the top part.

A knife and a box

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I then unscrewed the top part off to reveal on the other side, which reveals the Battery, as well as the NFC (tap-to-pay) contact pad.

A close-up of a device

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This is what the NFC (tap-to-pay) contact pad looks like when peeled off.

A square grey object with white lines

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You can also see the contact pads for the Card Insert.

A close up of a hand holding a black and white object

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A white box with a yellow rectangular object on a brown surface

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There is also a chip with the Square logo on it. I suspect it is a custom chip used for encrypting the card data.

A close up of a circuit board

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Thank you for reading till the end!

I hope you enjoyed it. If you have any question or comments don't hesitate to email me at makrypodisc@hotmail.com