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Squareup

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1–10 of 158 posts

Re: Squareup

#3
And they say innovation is dead in the U.S. Using the audio jack to read credit cards, brilliant.

Thinking out loud: I assume it reads the strips and converts the information to tones - but I would love to read more about it. I just want to plug it into my computer and see what comes up in Audacity when I scan a card.

I think this device/feature overwhelms the service as a whole actually.

Re: Squareup

#4
So how do I buy it? What are the fees? It's backed by Khosla Ventures, so it's obviously not vaporware, but I don't see a call-to-action anywhere.

Re: Squareup

#5
post #3

And they say innovation is dead in the U.S. Using the audio jack to read credit cards, brilliant. Thinking out loud: I assume it reads the strips and converts the information to tones - but I would love to read more about it. I just want to plug it into my computer and see what comes up in Audacity when I scan a card. I think this device/feature overwhelms the service as a whole actually.

I think the opposite is true. The hardware is almost a gimmick to push what is otherwise a potentially powerful service.

The theory behind this app is that individuals are now empowered to take credit cards for anything they previously would have had to take a cash or check for, which is increasingly important in our society where credit cards are becoming the normal way to pay for things.

As for the hardware, it's a pretty old trick. Though I don't know any of the specifics of this device, you don't need to look any further than your graphing calculator to see the idea in use.

Re: Squareup

#10
post #5
post #3

And they say innovation is dead in the U.S. Using the audio jack to read credit cards, brilliant. Thinking out loud: I assume it reads the strips and converts the information to tones - but I would love to read more about it. I just want to plug it into my computer and see what comes up in Audacity when I scan a card. I think this device/feature overwhelms the service as a whole actually.

I think the opposite is true. The hardware is almost a gimmick to push what is otherwise a potentially powerful service. The theory behind this app is that individuals are now empowered to take credit cards for anything they previously would have had to take a cash or check for, which is increasingly important in our society where credit cards are becoming the normal way to pay for things. As for the hardware, it's a…

You're 100% correct. Hardware is cool, but the merchant services side is what makes Square awesome
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