http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/ Engadget Comments for Square payment system is coming back in full force by 'late summer' http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/Aug 4th 2010 5:34AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/
Yeah, hence the people who buy iPhones will love it!!]]>Aug 4th 2010 5:49AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/
No, if anything it would appeal to the people SELLING to the impulse buying crowd (which, let's face it, is everyone).]]>Aug 4th 2010 6:48AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/My friend had only brought $10 in cash, but she had her credit card. After spending all her money on parking, we needed to get food.
The vendors walking around can only take cash. But wouldn't it be easier if they could swipe your credit card?

Or for online purchasing, wouldn't it be easier to swipe your card rather than type all the info in?

It's a convenient little device. ]]>Aug 4th 2010 7:34AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/Aug 4th 2010 8:40AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/
It was a *zing* comment. ]]>Aug 4th 2010 10:24AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/Aug 4th 2010 11:49AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/
I like the idea from a technical point of view but I really wonder which merchants have a need for such a system?
Let's check some:
- flea market, street merchants: merchants surely do not want to make traceable (to tax office etc.) what they sell and how much money they make -> unlikely target group
- shops: Only useful if integrated into cashier system (like at apple stores), meaning a larger invest is required and the decision for a "quick and cheap" solution like square is not the key thing -> unlikely target group

So again, what's the target group?

]]>Aug 4th 2010 5:50AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/Aug 4th 2010 6:11AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/Getting my tech-support business off the ground would be made simpler using this system. Comparable portable systems are quite costly, and most people prefer to pay with plastic when it comes to computer repairs, as the banks provide some consumer protection (if I should do I shoddy job).]]>Aug 4th 2010 8:02AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/Aug 4th 2010 8:46AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/Aug 4th 2010 2:35PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/
@engadget why is this even news? They're months behind while real companies are making mobile payments happen. Guess Jack thought payments and fraud risk mgmt was easy...duh. Destined to fail with emerging tech.]]>Aug 4th 2010 9:06PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/Aug 5th 2010 1:44PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/Aug 4th 2010 6:10AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/
Yeah I am anxious about the limits and other restrictions they are working on fixing.

If I can't take in some large payments with this, Ill have to look elsewhere.]]>Aug 4th 2010 8:37AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/Aug 4th 2010 9:39AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/
Seriously, signed up on day 1 for this months ago. Still haven't received the hardware.]]>Aug 4th 2010 4:22PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/
but more importantly, is that how much coffee is in America?! ]]>Aug 4th 2010 6:10AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/
No, it's not like the Octopus Card at all. In fact, it's the exact opposite. The Octopus Card is another payment method which allows CONSUMERS to buy things. The Square system is a mobile credit-card solution to allow MERCHANTS another way of accepting payments.

And no, that's not how much coffee costs. He's buying something at a fictional coffee shop but it could be a pound of coffee or some mugs or something.]]>Aug 4th 2010 6:53AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/Aug 4th 2010 6:59AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/Satan needs a partner?]]>Aug 4th 2010 9:25AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/Aug 4th 2010 9:38AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/
Square, like paypal, has absurdly high discount rates for the merchants. The base discount rate is more than a full percentage point higher. I calculated how little you would have to use credit cards to see a savings, and if I remember correctly it was about $800 a month. If you are a merchant processing over $800 a month (read: not going out of business) then you are going to save money with traditional CC processing.]]>Aug 4th 2010 1:08PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/Aug 4th 2010 9:08PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/
Sorry but knowing just how much fraud goes on out there, I'm leery of systems like this until they can prove otherwise.]]>Aug 4th 2010 8:43AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/
https://squareup.com/security]]>Aug 4th 2010 9:36AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/Aug 4th 2010 9:52AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/
FYI - information on PCI DSS - https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/

If you aren't already aware, your card information is encoded in plain text on the magnetic strip on your credit cards. Most MSR's just act as a keyboard to the device it's attached to - as if you are typing it in over a keyboard (for practical purposes as an example). Depending on the track read (there are 2 to 3 tracks on most cards) depends on the information that is stored. For example one stores card number and expiration date, while another stores card holders name and card number and expiration date. Newer MSR's actually encrypt the data before it leaves the MSR and the device its attached to or payment program that uses it must have the correct key to decode it.

On fixed point of sale devices or stations this isn't as big a concern (although it's still a big concern) as with mobile devices such as phones - particularly a smart phone like the iphone. All someone has to do is use a jailbroken iphone and have an app that interfaces with the device to have a skimmer. Or they might have a background app that captures the data before it's handed off to square's payment app and you wouldn't be any wiser.

Coupled with the marketing being targeted at kiosks, and smaller vendors, with potentially lower requirements for signing up, it might not take much for someone not so honest to get an account and hardware. So with little effort or cost, it can make it pretty easy to start stealing card numbers to sell them or use them. ]]>Aug 4th 2010 11:19AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/Aug 4th 2010 9:10PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/
Most real merchants would opt for a real virtual terminal app that links into a known gateway like Authorize.net for a secure credit card transaction with true merchant benefits like DBA name on customer receipts, broad limits as per initial merchant setup and knowing that the account belongs to me vs a middle man merchant setup where there are more then 1 risk factor that can effect my processing needs.

Check out the many Credit card terminal apps in the app store to see how most actually work based on real merchant accounts and real credit card processing benefits.

Some good examples of such apps:

http://www.spartadata.com (Billing)
http://www.appninjas.com (swipe)
http://www.innerfence.com (terminal)
Many more...]]>Aug 4th 2010 9:47AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/Aug 4th 2010 10:26AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/Aug 4th 2010 10:31AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/We use Authorize.net's virtual terminal, and it works well. The problem is not the technology, it's the high fees these services charge for non-swipe transactions. For some cards the vig is as high as 5% when all the fees and surcharges are totaled.]]>Aug 4th 2010 10:54AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/
On a flip side some merchants like myself hate to carry additional hardware that needs attaching to the iphone and not to mention the possibility of having it get lost. Some folks like the advantage of Card not Present open ended flow on being able to process payments online - no way to avoid high rates this way.

Ether way the swiper Square has is cool and their work is sweet but ask yourself if you want a lesser secure billing solution then what is mandated by PCI and the Bank Card Industry. You expose your business, your clients and your money should any skim apps or services crop up.

Good point nonetheless Ed T.]]>Aug 4th 2010 1:07PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/Aug 4th 2010 10:29AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/
A) a secure, PCI compliant application WITH a PCI compliant card reader
B) compatible with iOS, Android and soon Blackberry OS
C) AFFORDABLE

you may want to check out ROAMpay.
http://www.roamdata.com/roampay/us

@Paul99 we're a PCI certified payment gateway, our app does e-mail receipts with DBA names, its DES3 secure, and you can keep your existing merchant account. You should check us out!]]>Aug 4th 2010 12:05PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/
Also, Jack Dorsey needs to smile more. He has to be one of the most dour people I've ever seen. Sorry, Jack.]]>Aug 4th 2010 4:14PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/04/square-payment-system-is-coming-back-in-full-force-by-late-summ/Aug 5th 2010 11:32PM