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Squareup

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Re: Squareup

#111

Post by wmf »

mmagin wrote: post #70
dacort wrote: post #2

Wow - love the concept and vision here. Were I such a person, I might dub this payments 2.0. This image on their home page gave me chills, though. http://a1.sqimg.com/static/6c1cc3c1ad109e13d0be182c75c470762... But that's likely only because I'm a half-paranoid security geek.

I seriously gotta wonder how the iPhone of some random person (which has various third party apps on it, etc.) is going to meet the kind of security requirements the card issuer cares about: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Payment_Card_Industry_Data_Secu...

Haven't you heard? The App Store approval process prevents any trace of evil from getting into the iPhone.

Also, most Windows PCs aren't PCI-DSS compliant but people still use them for online shopping and banking.

Re: Squareup

#112

Post by DannoHung »

Tichy wrote: post #22

This could revolutionize begging. One of the last jobs that has not benefited from the computer revolution yet.

I don't see the part where every joe schmoe can get a merchant account?

Re: Squareup

#113

Post by asciilifeform »

mitko wrote: post #104
asciilifeform wrote: post #89

This may come as a shock to some, but: Magnetic cards (and all existing RFID equivalents) are bad. Instead of encouraging their use, we should be creating the mostly fraud-proof obvious alternative: one in which a single transaction does not give the other party permanent access to your wallet. Picture a card with a key pad on it, for entering a dollar amount. The transaction (through RFID?) would be valid for only t…

To increase the reliablity of a system, improve the weak links in a system, not the strong. In a computer systems class we had a lecture about security and cryptographics. There were many case studies of fraud, and almost none of them were deciphering codes. There were many other way easier approaches to steal money from bank accounts.

> improve the weak links in a system, not the strong

How is the fact that a credit card number (given online or copied down by a waiter) gives armies of thieves continuous access to my account not a weak link?

Re: Squareup

#114

Post by jordyhoyt »

run4yourlives wrote: post #82
jordyhoyt wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While commuting back and forth to Seattle on the ferries, my dad said he heard a couple people comparing how much they'd made begging that day and it was in the $200-$300 range. They had been disappointed in the "slow" day.

The problem with this is that it's the same as asking a bunch of people how much they make - it's always overstated.

Right, I don't understand the downvotes though, I was simply giving the only data point I had. Anecdotal though it is, from this, I don't see it as entirely unreasonable for someone in a larger city like NYC to make as much as my original post's grandparent suggested.

I also don't see any reason for two beggars talking amongst themselves (albeit loudly enough for others to hear) to inflate their daily income more than $100 or so, _especially_ if they're commuting (which costs ~$7/day) to do so.

Re: Squareup

#115

Post by run4yourlives »

jordyhoyt wrote: post #114
run4yourlives wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem with this is that it's the same as asking a bunch of people how much they make - it's always overstated.

Right, I don't understand the downvotes though, I was simply giving the only data point I had. Anecdotal though it is, from this, I don't see it as entirely unreasonable for someone in a larger city like NYC to make as much as my original post's grandparent suggested. I also don't see any reason for two beggars talking amongst themselves (albeit loudly enough for others to hear) to inflate their daily income more tha…

>I also don't see any reason for two beggars talking amongst themselves...to inflate their daily income

Well, the short answer is pride. The long answer would be that they do it for the same reasons that you or I would do it if we were asked our salary on a form, knowing that it would be compared, even anonymously, to others. It's the reason why HR firms basically ignore any data that asks an employee for their salary as being inaccurate.

Re: Squareup

#116

Post by volida »

SwellJoe wrote: post #95
volida wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"think it's pretty safe to assume" Hope doesn't scale.

You're probably right. http://paulbuchheit.blogspot.com/2007/03/how-to-be-right-90-...

I didn't criticize the idea. I up voted the story.

I just answered specifically to the comment, referring to the security aspect. Paypal was losing 10 million USD from fraud, so hope won't do it for the security.

"assume that people aren't going to be swiping their cards with random people"

Assuming, just won't do it.

Re: Squareup

#117

Post by omnipath »

kareemm wrote: post #33
vaksel wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

a begger in a big town like NYC can clear 90-120K no problem.

i've heard this before but haven't been able to verify. do you have a source?

This American Life did a podcast (can't find it at the moment) where they followed two guys who decided to become homeless, and beg for money in NYC while trying to write poetry and stories. Each guy easily cleared 60k, as I recall. So it's definitely doable.

In fact, another article I read told about a couple in Portland, Oregon that cleared 50k between the two of the begging.

Re: Squareup

#118

Post by SwellJoe »

volida wrote: post #116
SwellJoe wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're probably right. http://paulbuchheit.blogspot.com/2007/03/how-to-be-right-90-...

I didn't criticize the idea. I up voted the story. I just answered specifically to the comment, referring to the security aspect. Paypal was losing 10 million USD from fraud, so hope won't do it for the security. "assume that people aren't going to be swiping their cards with random people" Assuming, just won't do it.

And, I'm not arguing with you. I think fraud will be a big part of the problem they have to solve. I'm just pointing out that fraud has been solved in other novel payment processing cases in the past and will be solved for this particular case by someone, possibly this company, possibly one of the several likely competitors that will spring up (payment processing is incredibly lucrative if you do solve the fraud problem well enough).

I'll also mention that folks swipe their cards in fake ATM swipers pretty regularly. It hasn't hurt ATM usage, in general. Likewise, PayPal fraud is still an issue that they fight every day...but PayPal is incredibly profitable. eBay and craigslist also have huge fraud problems, but again, the sheer volume of legitimate transactions and the value of the huge markets they serve is enough to overcome any misgivings people have about using the services. So, I don't think that fake swipers will make this particularly company any more or less trusted than existing providers that have to fight fraud (assuming they are vigilant about actually fighting it).

Re: Squareup

#119

Post by bumblebird »

rcoder wrote: post #92
bumblebird wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't really understand the niche it's aiming to fill. Most stores/restaurants have portable card readers these days, so is it a poor-mans one of those? I guess I'm wondering what use-case it's aiming at. Also I absolutely would not trust someone swiping my card through one of these. I like a closed box that is obviously provided by a bank, which cannot be tampered with. Not an iphone that could be doing anything w…

Why exactly do you assume that a credit card reader is a "closed box that is obviously provided by a bank"? I've implemented point-of-sale systems before, and lemme tell you, there's nothing magical about a magstripe reader, a microcontroller, and a bit of firmware. Think for a second about recent credit-card purchases you've made. If your habits are anything like mine, aside from gas stations (where the reader is us…

Nope. Perhaps this is a country thing. In the UK pretty much everything happens in a specific looking chip+pin reader POS device. They all look pretty much the same and are pretty secure afaik.

(Also most places in the UK will not swipe your card anymore. It's all chip+pin).

Re: Squareup

#120

Post by bumblebird »

ericd wrote: post #72
bumblebird wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't really understand the niche it's aiming to fill. Most stores/restaurants have portable card readers these days, so is it a poor-mans one of those? I guess I'm wondering what use-case it's aiming at. Also I absolutely would not trust someone swiping my card through one of these. I like a closed box that is obviously provided by a bank, which cannot be tampered with. Not an iphone that could be doing anything w…

I've seen only a couple restaurants in NYC where the waiters have portable card readers. And if they roll out person-to-person, this would be a whole lot nicer than, say, having your friend write you a check.

OK It seems the issue is that the US is far behind in this. Pretty much every restaurant in the UK has portable POS devices waiters carry around to take payment. Pretty much every shop has the same standard looking POS chip+pin devices.

eg http://www.theopusgroup.co.uk/images/Secura-PIN-pad.jpg

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