Square introduces slimmed-down, simplified card reader

The Square card reader gets a new look. 

Mobile payments company Square has overhauled its mobile credit card reader. 

The new reader, which is free to anyone that opens an account with Square – you'll still have pay fees on each transaction – is said to be to 45 percent thinner than the last generation of tech. It's also much simpler internally. For instance, you won't need to plug the thing in: It'll run off the power of your iPhone or iPad or whatever you've got the reader plugged into.  

"The design’s refined aesthetic introduces a smoother, more intuitive experience for both merchants and their customers, and optimizes for efficiency, simple customization and ease-of-use," the Square team wrote in a press release this afternoon. "It also provides a consistent experience across Android and iOS 7, and with Square web dashboard, Square’s back office solution." 

Square, which was launched in 2010 by a team that includes Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, currently sees total payment volume of about $20 billion in transactions a year, Reuters has reported. Still, Dorsey has admitted that Square does not yet turn a profit. 

In related news, earlier this month news broke that Square had altered its terms of service for retailers to bar the sales of "firearms, firearm parts or hardware, and ammunition."

The move drew criticism from some gun owners, but in a statement to CNN, a spokesman said it was all strictly apolitical. 

"From time to time we revisit our policies governing the use of Square to ensure they are consistent with our values and in the best interests of our customers," the spokesman said.