The End of the Credit Card? New Square app: Card Case • Hacker News Board

Re: The End of the Credit Card? New Square app: Card Case

#81

Post by pbreit » Thu, Nov 03, 2011, 5:57 AM UTC

sliverstorm wrote: post #37

pbreit wrote: post #35

The Square dongle is the most brilliant customer acquisition tool in the history of marketing to small businesses. But Square probably needs to also offer a swiping solution that makes more sense in a permanent location like a physical store. And it should also acknowledge that customers are going to ask for a paper receipt for some period of time. Not every retailer is Apple. Getting rid of the flat fee that traditi…

I wouldn't say they "got rid of the flat fee". They are offering an alternative. The flat fee is not about to go the way of the dinosaur- it is still the more favorable option for clients processing large transactions.

I was referring to the $0.15 that Square used to charge for each swiped payment in addition to the 2.75%.

Re: The End of the Credit Card? New Square app: Card Case

#82

Post by pbreit » Thu, Nov 03, 2011, 6:10 AM UTC

gojomo wrote: post #50

thinkcomp wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a pretty long scroll box to find the person in the first place. Or an added step as you key in the first few letters of the person's name. At large retailers or QSR chains that put a premium on fast checkout, neither option will fly. I obviously appreciate the simplicity of paying with your face.

I doubt any firstname+lastname (or even just firstname+last_initial) situation would require a scroll box... you could fit 20+ recognizable faces on a screen. Sort them by age and in the few cases where there are that many collisions, cashiers would know just where to look. Keying the name is a bigger issue... so I suspect terminals in larger retailers will eventually just detect the N nearest pay-eligible handhelds.

Swiping a card is sounding a lot easier right about now.

Re: The End of the Credit Card? New Square app: Card Case

#83

Post by pbreit » Thu, Nov 03, 2011, 6:14 AM UTC

the_grind wrote: post #63

What prevents competitors from creating their own app that does this? If this takes off and Square charges X percent, I assume that Competitor Y will develop a similar app and charge X-z percent. I'm having a hard time seeing the barriers to entry for this particular approach.

It's almost impossible to get slotted in to the point-of-sale. Anyone able to do it has a massive advantage.

Re: The End of the Credit Card? New Square app: Card Case

#84

Post by dredmorbius » Thu, Nov 03, 2011, 6:46 AM UTC

notatoad wrote: post #29

Adolph_Jobs wrote: post #27

This is amazing in terms of ease-of-use. However, the privacy implications are a bit worrying... I don't really want to rubbish this, I hate the naysayers when something disruptive comes around (note that Japan rolled out pay-by-cellphone on their subway systems something like 10 years ago) but... "She saw my name and photo on her iPad, tapped it, and I was done. A receipt was sent to my phone." So all employees at s…

the privacy issues are negated by it being totally opt in. the other examples in your post are silent, unauthorized tracking. obviously there are privacy concerns with a system like this, but if that is something that worries you, you can control it.

No, the privacy issues aren't negated.

If you opt in, you have no privacy.

And if this does become ubiquitous (I suspect it won't, but that's just me), opting out will be painful. Very painful.

No thanks.

Re: The End of the Credit Card? New Square app: Card Case

#85

Post by dredmorbius » Thu, Nov 03, 2011, 6:48 AM UTC

notatoad wrote: post #30

wolfish wrote: post #25

What happens when your chilling in a coffee shop and your arch nemesis orders a latte with your name?

the article specifically mentions this problem. you should try reading it.

Ok, so I'll raise the ante.

What happens when you're chillin' on the street, and your arch nemesis has hacked your favorite coffeeshop's PoS system, nabbing your account details, phone identifier, and photo, and proceeds to stalk you all over town from a distance of 100 feet?

Re: The End of the Credit Card? New Square app: Card Case

#86

Post by pnathan » Thu, Nov 03, 2011, 6:57 AM UTC

I am looking forward to the IPO. I expect big things from Square.

They are really kicking butt.

Re: The End of the Credit Card? New Square app: Card Case

#87

Post by adamjernst » Thu, Nov 03, 2011, 6:59 AM UTC

dredmorbius wrote: post #84

notatoad wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

the privacy issues are negated by it being totally opt in. the other examples in your post are silent, unauthorized tracking. obviously there are privacy concerns with a system like this, but if that is something that worries you, you can control it.

No, the privacy issues aren't negated. If you opt in, you have no privacy. And if this does become ubiquitous (I suspect it won't, but that's just me), opting out will be painful. Very painful. No thanks.

Opt in per store.

Re: The End of the Credit Card? New Square app: Card Case

#88

Post by gojomo » Thu, Nov 03, 2011, 7:01 AM UTC

thinkcomp wrote: post #71

gojomo wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I doubt any firstname+lastname (or even just firstname+last_initial) situation would require a scroll box... you could fit 20+ recognizable faces on a screen. Sort them by age and in the few cases where there are that many collisions, cashiers would know just where to look. Keying the name is a bigger issue... so I suspect terminals in larger retailers will eventually just detect the N nearest pay-eligible handhelds.

The additional hardware (plus integration cost) is something that reatilers don't want to spend on. In contrast, barcode scanners are already there and they typically emulate keyboards, so no special integation is required. I'm not convinced that paying with your name scales for most retailers. The retailers I've talked to aren't convinced, either.

Barcode scanning is another good option to speed the initial account-identification.

I suspect in coming years, multiple systems will all work together to train users to bring up barcodes on their handhelds for specific purposes (as with boarding passes or "Jonathan's Card").

Re: The End of the Credit Card? New Square app: Card Case

#89

Post by maximusprime » Thu, Nov 03, 2011, 7:32 AM UTC

patio11 wrote: post #3

That is what disruptive innovation looks like. "Oh look, a multi-billion dollar problem people were trying to solve by getting two sides of the market to simultaneously ubiquitously install new hardware. How about we solve it with stuff they already own plus new software instead?"

Because it's stupidly insecure, unregulated, won't reach mass adoption etc?

Re: The End of the Credit Card? New Square app: Card Case

#90

Post by koevet » Thu, Nov 03, 2011, 7:33 AM UTC

I like the idea, minus the client tracking feature. I hope that they will add a opt-out for clients who don't want to be tracked (so basically every time you walk into a store, you are like a brand new customer, system-wise).

Also, I have some doubts about the human face recognition bit. Will it work in a crowded environment, with stressed-out clerks? Phones get stolen all the time and it doesn't sound too remote that someone picks your phone and walks into a shop with a big pair of shades and a 4 days beard.