This could revolutionize begging. One of the last jobs that has not benefited from the computer revolution yet.
Begging with an iPhone?
a begger in a big town like NYC can clear 90-120K no problem.
Squareup
31–40 of 158 posts
Re: Squareup
#32Interesting idea, I really like the hardware piece. Not sure how large of a market there is for this. Mom + Pop stores use CC terminals (cheaper than an iPhone), so that leaves this open to mostly people who accept payment outdoors at farmers markets, sports events, etc.. For that to work you'd have to be comfortable giving a merchant your credit card, which isn't a sure thing considering they can disappear without a…
The sex industry could be a large market.
In such a market, anonymity is probably preferred.
Re: Squareup
#33Re: Squareup
#34I like it from the person to person interaction level. What about wear and tear on the audio in jack? Gas pumps and grocery stores have card swipers that look like little tanks bolted on.
I think on a person to person level Bump would make more sense (I don't think they do payments yet, but it would be a logical next step).
Re: Squareup
#35Interesting idea, I really like the hardware piece. Not sure how large of a market there is for this. Mom + Pop stores use CC terminals (cheaper than an iPhone), so that leaves this open to mostly people who accept payment outdoors at farmers markets, sports events, etc.. For that to work you'd have to be comfortable giving a merchant your credit card, which isn't a sure thing considering they can disappear without a…
it's unclear to me whether you need a merchant account to use square; i'm assuming from "0-$60 in under 10 seconds" that you don't. if you don't need a merchant account, the market for this is massive. there are millions of people who provide services and sell products who take cash, check, or paypal only. many of these people are dying to take credit cards with zero hassle, which square lets them do.
I thought about that too. Someone has to have a merchant account, so it's possible all of the payments go through Square and they act as a clearing house where they redirect payment to the correct merchant. I could see that leaving them vulnerable to chargebacks. I wonder what kind of rates they're offering to users.
Re: Squareup
#36it would be neat if customers could download an app that would interface with a store using square.
the customer could browse the menu, buy the product (coffee or whatever) and prepare their order before even getting to the store, then walk in, transmit the order wirelessly (or through the internet to the store) along with their stored payment info to the store's register and have everything processed right away without having to swipe anything or even stand in line.
i'm sure there are existing iphone apps that do this for particular stores (chipotle comes to mind) but if it was a generic app that automatically worked with any store that accepted square, it would be pretty convenient.
Re: Squareup
#37This sounds like a money grab business to me.
They'll launch, make a couple hundred mil, then they'll get hit with fraud, a ton of people will lose money, and they'll be forced to shut down, since noone will want to use the service, in fear of getting defrauded.
Since there is no barrier to entry, it'll be like 2 weeks before someone comes out with a black market version, that will look exactly the same, but instead of processing credit cards, it'll store them for future fraud.
Will be like the ATM snooping devices, but instead of having to get into the bank, all you need is an iPhone, and some "small" business to rob people with. A taxi, or a newspaper stand.
Edit: If you are going to downvote, at least tell me how exactly do you think this will avoid fraud from fakers who imitate the look and feel of the device?
Re: Squareup
#38Do they have a patent on the magnetic reader that interfaces using an phone jack? Just curious.
Re: Squareup
#39Earlier quoted context omitted.
Begging with an iPhone?
a begger in a big town like NYC can clear 90-120K no problem.
In order to make $90,000 begging, you would have to get $250 every day of the year. This seems highly unlikely. I'd say most beggars make more like $20 a day, but I'm just doing armchair science here.
Re: Squareup
#40The audio jack is on the top of the iPhone. What's it hooked up to in that picture?