First Look: Square Mobile Payment System

[MrTop3selected]

Does the square except debit cards and who pays the fee the merchant or the cardholder?

[TheAppleMicrosoft]

3:30 the ipad has that future, and it should be coming to iphone soon square said.

[moncia87]

Do i have to report any of the payments to the IRS???

[AlejandraB0830]

@ GODLOVEEESYOU

3.5% is like the standard fee from most places (ie ETSY, PayPal) . These things usually cost upwards of $300 too and that sucks if you are a small business owner like myself!!! But I can see your point as well.

[janX9]

NON-US CITIZENS!

DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME!

Square is currently ONLY available in the US, and they do not yet know when it will be available internationally if at all.

I got the app from the US iTunes store, downloaded, installed, set up an account, then I went to order my free Square adapter, and found they only ship to the US, and even if you did get one, it does not matter, as Square ONLY accepts US Credit Cards.

Thumbs Up if this saved you the time of finding all this out for yourself :)

[IforgotMyMedication]

So this is totally free including the device what they send you except they take the 3,5% from your payments. Am i right?

[DerekMerdinyan]

@IforgotMyMedication Yes. They may have even lowered the 3.5% by now as more people start using the service.

[GODLOVEEESYOU]

3.5% transaction fee is freaking expensive !!! Just like Paypal & bank ATM fees ! I'd prefer to buy the device & not have to pay fees ! This will just cause more credit card fraud but it's a great idea though ! :D

[MrAnimated]

To all the haters, I have an iPhone 4, iPad, and a small business(im a teenager), I know both devices will lag and I've seen how long the square takes getting the right focus, area, and camera launching will take longer than the square and I like the feel of swiping a credit card lol knowing you're getting money. Once square finishes they underwriting infrastructure and gets the readers out I'm sure it will be a big thing

[phototristan]

Horrible audio. 

[JohnnyKennedy93]

isn't it 2.9%?

[realisticHomeboy]

Pointless device.

1 - You could just type in the credit card information manually. It's the same.

2 - It would make WAY more sense to just snap a picture of the front of the credit card, and have the application recognize the credit card number from that picture. All existing and easy technology and no need for extra devices.

[DerekMerdinyan]

Those are fair points. I'm not defending them but I think this is why they created the device:

1). Yes you can, but it's faster to swipe. In a retail setting, some people get nervous when they read their number out loud or if a cashier has to manually enter a number.

2). Snapping a picture is an interesting way to do this. The Square, makes it possible to quickly receive the numbers via a phone, or, in the future, from any device w/ a 3.5 mm jack (no camera required).

[realisticHomeboy]

@DerekMerdinyan

All modern phones have a camera.

[DerekMerdinyan]

True, but not all devices have cameras. iPad, iPod Touch, and even some desktops/laptops.

They may have considered the idea, but I think the 3.5mm jack is more prevalent than a camera.

[realisticHomeboy]

@DerekMerdinyan

They are marketing this device specifically for the iphone though, which does have a camera.

There's already software to read barcodes with the camera,

so you can check prices in the stores and

get comparison prices from other stores.

Desktops don't have a minijack that you can use for this anyway.

There it would need usb or firewire.

[hackersarchangel]

@realisticHomeboy Wrong. 3.5mm is the standard headphone size jack. Which pretty much every device has. Therefore this allows for universal applications. Which btw, you CAN use this anywhere. You just have to think first.

[realisticHomeboy]

@hackersarchangel You also should think before you post. Do you really think that just because a device has a 3.5mm headphone jack, that means that the jack can be used for the square? Seriously dude. The device OBVIOUSLY needs to not just have a headphone jack, but a jack that can be used for this kinda stuff, which most devices and computers do not have.

[hackersarchangel]

@realisticHomeboy Ok so from the looks of it, it has what appears to be three rings on the actual plug itself thus making it different from the normal 3.5 plugs, which contain one ring. So yes in a general assumption, you would need a special 3.5 jack in which to plugin with. The question is, which devices have it, and which do not? and for the ones that do not, can a small adapter be made in which to translate the swipe into an audio signal that can be decoded?

[realisticHomeboy]

@hackersarchangel It's not even relevant what rings it has dude. It can be EXACTLY identical and that still has absolutely nothing to do with it. Just because a device has a plug where such a jack fits, does not mean that the device can use the square.

The question is NOT which devices has such a plug. On most devices the headphone jack, regardless of shape, can do nothing but output audio.

[TrigonySL]

@DerekMerdinyan Who the hell would allow you to take a picture of the link to their banking accounts?!

Swiping is secure, and hackers would definitely mod the camera API to KEEP the picture...

[gorillazproductions]

@realisticHomeboy But the broblem is that then ur takin a pic of the credit card

[realisticHomeboy]

@gorillazproductions How is that a problem? It's not going to be saved. It will just be processed for getting the credit card information, that you would be getting by swyping it.

[gorillazproductions]

@realisticHomeboy Well yea but the ipod touch dosent have a camera so i mean some devices dont have cameras so i mean

[realisticHomeboy]

@gorillazproductions Why use an ipod touch for that anyway. I don't see why you would. You would use an iphone.

[gorillazproductions]

@realisticHomeboy Yea i kno but lets say u have a yard sale and u have an ipod touch and u want to ttake credit cards i mean its easier and more secure and the prob is that u dont get the ccv # on the back of the card and that defeats the perpose and its less secure

[realisticHomeboy]

@gorillazproductions Why would anyone take credit card during a yard sale. It's just a hypothetical situation that doesn't happen and is definitely not worth buying any device for.

[gorillazproductions]

@realisticHomeboy Well the square is ree and yes i sell cell phones at yard sales and fleamarkets i used to use a nurit 8000 and now use me square on my iphone and droid sooooo

[realisticHomeboy]

@gorillazproductions So you are not just using it for some yard sale, and you are not using a device that doesn't have a camera, so whats the point?

For someone who is just some day doing a yard sale, it's not worth getting and even paying a percentage to them for the transactions.

[gorillazproductions]

@realisticHomeboy Well the thing is i think the square is easier and no i use my iphone or droid and i own a business so i mean thats y i use it its convinient so

[hackersarchangel]

@realisticHomeboy actually that does matter. If you use a plug that has no rings, the audio is in mono, being either the left or right side speaker but not in true stereo or both. Point I'm making is this: some devices may have the extra contact points inside the jack itself, thus allowing for the extra separate parts of the plug to have the ability to transmit data or audio.

[realisticHomeboy]

@hackersarchangel Oh what is wrong with you dude? This conversation is not about if the plug does not fit. What you are talking about has zero relevance. Your claim was that since many devices has a plug that DOES fit, then they must be able to use the square. What I am telling you is that just because a device has an identical plug, it does not mean it in any kind of way is able to use the square. It's not about the plug. Turn on your brain dude.

[hackersarchangel]

@realisticHomeboy actually.... my brain is turned on but unfortunately you aren't understanding what exactly I am referring to. So I'll just leave you to go play with the kids and I'll enjoy my Square when it arrives.

[realisticHomeboy]

@hackersarchangel You have to remember what you said. You said that since it's a 3.5 mm jack, most devices, such as a pc would be able to use it. What I told you is that of course that is a ridiculous claim. Having that kind of jack/plug has no relevance. Just because a device has such a jack in which the plug from the square fits, it does in no way mean that it will be able to use the square. What is there to not get?

[hackersarchangel]

@realisticHomeboy Ok, yes I did indeed say that. What I am trying to tell you AFTER THAT is that the rings on the plug itself make up separate electrical connections so a properly setup jack CAN potentially access the data being transmitted via the square plug.

[realisticHomeboy]

@hackersarchangel Which is not very important. You could always use a converter plug for devices that don't have the exact same plug, but does the same capabilities.

[hackersarchangel]

@realisticHomeboy That's what I was thinking actually. Either find a way to send it via a microphone jack, a USB port, or some other method. Granted I think a hardline into the device is the safest method versus Bluetooth or wireless, but that's just my opinion.

[eclecticdreams]

@realisticHomeboy

When you enter in credit card information manually you increase the chance of putting the information in incorrectly. It also increases the chances that the actual credit card was not present at the transaction (ie stolen). Merchants usually pay a larger fee when they enter information in manually than when they swipe the card because of these things. Also, it would be easier for a credit card company to verify an electronic swipe than a photo like you suggested.

[ElectricalGuru]

@realisticHomeboy

Taking a picture of someones card gives the impression that the person taking the picture will be actually capturing the image and thus the card. With a swipe it is more something we are shoppers are accustom to and are more willing to accept. The issue of it being pointless is not so pointless. What would be pointless is if they charged you for the reader...so since they give it away it is pointless to worry about it and enjoy it in my opinion.

[Iph0n3Rev1ew]

how did you get a proto type?