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Square announces the Register, a $999 point-of-sale device for larger businesses

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Re: Square announces the Register, a $999 point-of-sale device for larger businesses

#41
post #7

Still no scale/scanner combo support, coin dispenser, or any way to use a non-overpriced receipt printer. Once again, Square is stuck doing a meh job replacing the cheap cash register and nothing more.

Are POS units actually cheap? Seems to me like one of those areas where things are potentially way more expensive than it seems they should be.

Industry standard POS systems are usually significantly more expensive

Re: Square announces the Register, a $999 point-of-sale device for larger businesses

#42
post #7

Still no scale/scanner combo support, coin dispenser, or any way to use a non-overpriced receipt printer. Once again, Square is stuck doing a meh job replacing the cheap cash register and nothing more.

Are POS units actually cheap? Seems to me like one of those areas where things are potentially way more expensive than it seems they should be.

A supermarket POS (Fujitsu, NCR, etc) runs about $7.5k - $15k per lane.

Re: Square announces the Register, a $999 point-of-sale device for larger businesses

#43
post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not having cash actually is a feature for some establishments. There's a bar in Berkeley that doesn't allow you to pay with cash, so they had no need for registers. We assumed the purpose was to prevent any incentive to rob the place (even by employees).

> "Doesn't allow you to pay with cash" How? Once they've poured your drink and ask for money, they can't refuse your cash payment[0] (that's what "legal tender" means). I suppose they could forbid you from ordering another at that point, or ban you.... [0] ETA: or rather, they can refuse it, but only if they forgive the debt. If you try to pay a debt in legal cash, they can't tell you "no you need to pay us some othe…

I used to think that but after some more reading I realized it’s fundamentally not true.

YANAL, as you said, and this is a common misconception about what “legal tender” is.

Re: Square announces the Register, a $999 point-of-sale device for larger businesses

#44

Square is a privacy nightmare. They track your purchases across stores and tie your email to your credit card. The worst part is there is no "opt in" either. There is no privacy policy or terms of service that I agree to. My only option is to either pay in cash or not shop there.

If privacy is that important to you then just pay cash. Otherwise your credit card company, your bank, Facebook, Equifax, Google and the store itself among others are all tracking you as much as possible across purchases in the physical retail world and across all your web traffic. All of these datapoints are being cross-correlated in a billion different ways. "I'm not on Facebook" - oh yes you are. There's a shadow…

Bunch of places near my work don't accept cash anymore (seems recent as of a year or so ago). Card only, no checks either.

Re: Square announces the Register, a $999 point-of-sale device for larger businesses

#45
A cheap[0] entry into a market with a lot of outdated established players. This is a classic potentially disruptive move.

[0] new PoS systems can cost $3k and up. Seems like this is only missing a cash drawer (optional add on) and those are cheap.

Re: Square announces the Register, a $999 point-of-sale device for larger businesses

#46
post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If privacy is that important to you then just pay cash. Otherwise your credit card company, your bank, Facebook, Equifax, Google and the store itself among others are all tracking you as much as possible across purchases in the physical retail world and across all your web traffic. All of these datapoints are being cross-correlated in a billion different ways. "I'm not on Facebook" - oh yes you are. There's a shadow…

Bunch of places near my work don't accept cash anymore (seems recent as of a year or so ago). Card only, no checks either.

Is this legal?

Re: Square announces the Register, a $999 point-of-sale device for larger businesses

#47
post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If privacy is that important to you then just pay cash. Otherwise your credit card company, your bank, Facebook, Equifax, Google and the store itself among others are all tracking you as much as possible across purchases in the physical retail world and across all your web traffic. All of these datapoints are being cross-correlated in a billion different ways. "I'm not on Facebook" - oh yes you are. There's a shadow…

Bunch of places near my work don't accept cash anymore (seems recent as of a year or so ago). Card only, no checks either.

I was curious how this was legal, but it looks like they're only required to accept cash as payment for debt. As long as no service is provided before you pay then it's legal to refuse cash.

Re: Square announces the Register, a $999 point-of-sale device for larger businesses

#49
post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not having cash actually is a feature for some establishments. There's a bar in Berkeley that doesn't allow you to pay with cash, so they had no need for registers. We assumed the purpose was to prevent any incentive to rob the place (even by employees).

> "Doesn't allow you to pay with cash" How? Once they've poured your drink and ask for money, they can't refuse your cash payment[0] (that's what "legal tender" means). I suppose they could forbid you from ordering another at that point, or ban you.... [0] ETA: or rather, they can refuse it, but only if they forgive the debt. If you try to pay a debt in legal cash, they can't tell you "no you need to pay us some othe…

Or, just exercise their right to not serve you? If you order something and then are unable to pay in the manner they request, they can just throw the drink away and move on. This would also happen if your card was declined.

Re: Square announces the Register, a $999 point-of-sale device for larger businesses

#50
post #46
post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bunch of places near my work don't accept cash anymore (seems recent as of a year or so ago). Card only, no checks either.

Is this legal?

Yes. Cash is only required to work for paying debt. The store can request whatever payment method they want.
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