Square Pushes Further Into the Cash Register Business With the Square Stand

Credit card processing company Square has added another product to its growing repertoire of small business solutions, today announcing the Square Stand -- a $299 iPad stand with a built-in credit card swiper and USB ports to add peripherals like a cash drawer, receipt printer and barcode scanner.

The stand is meant to pair with the Register checkout app that the company unveiled last year to give retail stores a cheaper option than pricey full-featured point-of-sale systems. Square updated its Register app with barcode scanning last month.

Though existing Square customers can purchase other stands, or simply use a free-floating iPad with Square's card swiper, AllThingsD spoke to Square CEO Jack Dorsey about the unserved market that he believes the Square Stand serves:

But that, Dorsey said, is where the point of the product comes in. There’s basically two areas being served by POS systems right now — the very small merchants, who use the company’s existing card reader software out there (or ones from competitors like PayPal or Intuit), and the big, cumbersome (and rather ugly) POS systems used by restaurants and others that cost somewhere in the area of ten grand or more. For Square’s setup, you could slap a $500 iPad on a $300 stand and, perhaps buy one or two of the ticket-printing peripherals to go with it, and be set up for under a grand.

The stand is available for $299, with a USB-compatible cash drawer ($199), receipt printer ($199), and barcode scanner ($99) available as add-ons. Retailers can add an entry-level iPad 2 and have a full register setup for under $1,200.

The Square Stand is available for preorder now, shipping July 8th.

Top Rated Comments

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nutmac

86 months ago

The stand looks spiffy, but Square missed the opportunity by offering add-ons that do not match the aesthetics of the iPad and the stand.

Rating: 7 Votes

jlgolson

86 months ago

Lol the add ons are expensive! No thanks. I'd rather just buy a Retina Macbook Pro :D

I suspect you do not run a retail store. These aren't $0.99 apps that you're downloading!

Rating: 5 Votes

timothyquinlan

86 months ago

That has to be one of the best commercials I have seen in a long time.

Rating: 4 Votes

Snowy_River

86 months ago

I use Square for my business. The one thing that has continued to annoy me is the location of the "finished signing" button. I let my customers use a stylus, as the vast majority of people are more comfortable signing their name with something like a pen than with their finger, and if you're using a stylus that button is right where your hand is likely to bump the screen. I've had quite a few customers just start signing (barely more than the first stroke of their signature) only to have the button bumped and on it goes.

I brought this up with Square when it first came up, years ago now, and to date, through numerous updates, they have done nothing about it. Is it so hard to move the button to the top of the screen? Is there really a compelling reason to have it at the bottom the supersedes this glaring UI issue?

Rating: 3 Votes

iphone495

86 months ago

Lol the add ons are expensive! No thanks. I'd rather just buy a Retina Macbook Pro :D

You can't print receipts with a Retina Macbook Pro

Rating: 3 Votes

dejo

86 months ago

What about a Chip Card Reader? People expect those in stores these days (and basically every that's not microscopic has them). At least that's how it is up here in Canada...

And Europe. But not in the U.S., AFAIK.

Rating: 2 Votes

Dragonlance1561

86 months ago

What about a Chip Card Reader? People expect those in stores these days (and basically every that's not microscopic has them). At least that's how it is up here in Canada...

Rating: 2 Votes

unplugme71

86 months ago

Yeah, the 2.75% isn't as good if you have decent volume, but they do have a good option for businesses who handle $250k per year in swipes (https://squareup.com/pricing/per-month).

They're aiming for (what they view as) the underserved small to medium-size market.

2.75% and no monthly fees is not bad for someone who does very, very low volume - like 20-30 transactions that are under $100 each per month. If you start doing more, almost any merchant will offer you much better rates. Bank of America for example offered me 2.0-2.25% swipes (Visa/MC, Amex) with $20/month, no setup fees. That was based on a $5000/mo volume. If you do more, they put you below the 2%.

Walmart, I believe, pays 0.5% or less per swipe.

Square is going to fail when businesses realize their competition is getting better and offering rates based on volume for iOS/Android devices.

I left square when my volume increased to the point where paying 1.85% and $20 per month was cheaper than paying 2.75%. Losing revenue shouldn't be part of anyone's business plan and Square seems to only cater to those people who sell shoes from the trunk of their car.

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great commercial by the way

Rating: 1 Votes

needfx

86 months ago

That has to be one of the best commercials I have seen in a long time.

that is indeed a nice ad

costs on the other hand..

Rating: 1 Votes

Millah

86 months ago

Does that not seem awfully pricey to anyone else? Not the add ons so much as the $300 stand? How much could it possibly cost them to make each one... $60?

I assume you've never looked into how much it costs to own and operate point of sale systems in a retail store. These are very affordable offerings aimed at small businesses who would like cheaper alternatives.

Rating: 1 Votes

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