21–30 of 64 posts
I don't really get it, are they only using the magnetic strip and not the chip on the card?
They are U.S./Canada only. The European equivalent (which does take EMV chip-and-pin) is iZettle https://www.izettle.com
http://www.zimbio.com/Credit+Cards/articles/wqJ31IbmC13/New+...
(Visa & Mastercard are the biggest CC companies here. Hardly anyone has Amex, and Interac is a debit card thing that Square doesn't support.)
How does it get power? Cord out through the bottom?
So you swipe the card? I haven't seen a cash registry where you need to swipe in ages. I understand the cost implications but it seems really ancient not to use the chip.
I'm assuming you're not in the US. Swiping here is still very much the default. I've used the chip readers, but they appear on my statements with less information than a swipe, so now I avoid them, they give me no additional benefit
When I show people the square dongle on my phone, the first thing most people ask is... "OK, that's cool, but how can it accept cash"?
If their communication is not really simple & clear about how they can be a "total" solution for a small business (which yes, must also take cash + CC's), then they will not get to mass market. Having more hardware (which is far harder to scale than software) will not be the best path.
That said, I'm still impressed with Square, as it's very hard to compete in a non-level playing field with huge entrenched players (Visa/MC/AMEX + big POS players), and the ecosystem needs successful upstarts to freshen the ecosystem for consumers.
How does it get power? Cord out through the bottom?
I'm not sure who this is for. Square originated as a simple way for individuals and very small businesses to take credit without a massive investment. Evidently, businesses also took interest in such a product. However, a $300 kiosk is probably out of the realm of possibility for many one-man operations. At the same time, the business demographic to which they are appealing with this (larger established businesses th…
There are already a couple coffee shops and at least one fairly nice restaurant using iPads and Square this way in Boulder. I can see a lot of reasons why this could be an effective strategy, with benefits on all sides. One thing though: while e-mailing myself receipts for business dinners is a nice-to-have feature, I am curious to know more about the privacy implications (probably wouldn't take but a moment to find…
https://squareup.com/legal/privacy
https://squareup.com/legal/seller-agreement
The Stand appears to be an entry in the niche of minimal POS (Point-of-Sale) setups, perhaps as an answer to an upgrade desire: "I like Square, but I need something more like a cash register."
It does seem to solve a security issue by tethering the iPad to the counter, which anyone whose phone has been stolen can readily appreciate.
I am surprised that the signature process is not done by tilting the device toward the customer and letting the screen display rotate. Perhaps Square is aiming more toward upscale retailers with great expanses of customer-facing counter space (who would also be more likely to pay the 2.75% transaction fee.) Perhaps the choice of white hardware is based on the same approach.
I don't really get it, are they only using the magnetic strip and not the chip on the card?
Most cards in the US don't have a chip.
I don't live in a big city, but I travel a fair amount across the U.S. I have never seen a chip reader.
A stand? That's not what they need to go mass market. When I show people the square dongle on my phone, the first thing most people ask is... "OK, that's cool, but how can it accept cash"? If their communication is not really simple & clear about how they can be a "total" solution for a small business (which yes, must also take cash + CC's), then they will not get to mass market. Having more hardware (which is far ha…
A stand? That's not what they need to go mass market. When I show people the square dongle on my phone, the first thing most people ask is... "OK, that's cool, but how can it accept cash"? If their communication is not really simple & clear about how they can be a "total" solution for a small business (which yes, must also take cash + CC's), then they will not get to mass market. Having more hardware (which is far ha…
Do people really ask how the Square can accept cash? You don't need a square to accept cash.