[kenjackson]

What's the innovation here? I mean its great if I already have an iPad at checkout. But why would I buy a $500 device to sit next to my cash register? Or if I'm going all credit and debit, there are already services that work with $250 netbooks. And beyond that you can just lease the little boxes for like $20/month+some surcharge.

It seems cool for techies, but is it really going to change the game?

UPDATE: Although this seems like more of a win for door to door sales and maybe mall kiosks.

[danilocampos]

Card processing for everyone, anywhere with internet access without the need for a commitment, a costly investment in hardware or a separate merchant account. The UX isn't just good from a hardware perspective – it's also awesome in how you get paid.

There's a solid chunk of people who could benefit from accepting credit cards for whom the setup you've described isn't really worth it.

Moreover, if you already have an iDevice, which isn't much of a stretch, you now have a credit card terminal for free.

[roc]

> "What's the innovation here?"

I think you're getting hung up on the form-factor of the iPad and missing the novel part: the software.

It not only gives every merchant the advantage of loyalty-card-type data streams, but gives tools that leverage that data to the customers as well.

Cash register software is notoriously bad. Even the big shops that spend millions on it. It really wouldn't take much to upend that business.

[kenjackson]

If you're looking at just SW, how's it compare to Quickbooks POS?

[stevelosh]

> But why would I buy a $500 device to sit next to my cash register?

Because many "point of sale systems" cost far, far more than $500 and are steaming piles of bad user experience.

> Although this seems like more of a win for door to door sales and maybe mall kiosks.

Definitely, and private instructors as well. I teach dance classes/private lessons and being able to take a card right on the spot is incredibly convenient.

[kenjackson]

Because many "point of sale systems" cost far, far more than $500 and are steaming piles of bad user experience.

But those systems that cost more than $500 take credit, cash, and check. And you get accounting for all of the different types of sales you do. You still need that machine, if you do cash/check sales.

[stevelosh]

Square lets you record cash purchases, so you don't need the machine: http://d.pr/dGVT

Yes, if you need a much more complicated system then you'll need to pay more, but many people don't. There's no way I could afford, or would want to use, most POS systems out there.

[kenjackson]

But it's not just taking the cash, but the complete workflow.

But really that's another point that's not so important. My broader point is that this doesn't feel extremely innovative or disruptive. I knew people who did laptop based credit card processing... what 15 years ago? Didn't have the slider, so you had to type the number. And today I can get the equipment for just CC processing for free. And there is some decent software, but the best, like Intuit's is paid.

But this feels really incremental over the course of 15 years. The SW is cheaper, but the transaction percentage is much higher. This doesn't feel like a shift in the way people buy things or companies collect payment in the same way as checks/credit cards/paypal/debit cards did.

Not saying its a bad product, but I'm not seeing the innovation/disruption. I'm seeing a good next step for some use cases.