It’s not easy packaging banking products as holiday gifts. Prepaid gift cards are an obvious exception, though few banks actively market them online. And ING Direct’s Sharebuilder has for years sold a beginner’s investment package that’s intended to be given to kids or grandkids (see Wells Fargo/Sharebuilder 2002 holiday email below).

This year, Square joins that short list with a gift-wrapped box containing its iPhone/Android dongle, used to swipe credit cards. You can order 1, 2 or 3 packages online at a cost of just $1 each for the gift wrap. The dongles are sent to the buyer who must distribute.

I learned about it in an email right before the Thanksgiving holiday (screenshot below).

Bottom line: While recipients may be a little less impressed once they find out these dongles are free online, overall I love it. It’s really the payments advice doled out when giving the package that can make it special. 

Good idea and great email/landing page design: A

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Email received (22 Nov 2011)

Landing page (link)

Wells Fargo/Sharebuilder email from Dec 2002 (post)

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