

Why Square could be one of the greatest Trojan Horses in recent tech history - chexton
http://www.chrishexton.com/?p=41

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pier0
With that title I was hoping to read a good conspiracy story about Square
running some form of malware stealing users' data: I'm disappointed.

Change the title. Or make up a malware story to go with the tone of the title.

~~~
chexton
I feared that it might be misinterpreted as such. I'll consider that. Thanks.

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thinkcomp
This article is mostly nonsense.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: the card infrastructure is too old.
Unless Square plans to replace it from end to end, it won't be going very far
and will likely end up as a large acquisition for Visa.

See [http://www.quora.com/Aaron-Greenspan/Paying-With-Your-
Phone-...](http://www.quora.com/Aaron-Greenspan/Paying-With-Your-Phone-Is-
Awesome-Because-Its-Not-1960-Anymore-In-Reply-To-Farhad-Manjoos-Paying-With-
Your).

~~~
chexton
Aaron,

I have read your Quora post and I agree that the credit card system is
antiquated, outdated and leaves a lot to be desired. I certainly feel this as
credit card user and as a member of the startup community who knows the
possibilities that are out there. I wrote the article considering the
perspective that when Square started I was rather skeptical, it felt like a
bit of a gimmick, yet their latest update suggests they are moving away from
merely providing a piece of hardware that allows a merchant to accept credit
cards and considering a more holistic system.

The new direction is at least interesting as the introduction of Card Case
means they could the a customer's identity and credit card to their mobile
phone and I can't see why down the road they couldn't use a variety of fund
sources, i.e. not just credit cards.

I do think Square has a long, long way to go.

Where they started has given them some traction to date and I think that's
because at this point in time, albeit antiquated, credit cards are well
understood. In my opinion it's good to see Square adding extra features to
their initial offering as I think it will need to in order to survive.

~~~
thinkcomp
Hi,

I compete with Square, so I'm admittedly biased, but I know something about
this space.

We've built a full-featured POS system and API from scratch that runs in a web
browser. "Full-featured" is an important descriptor because it means a lot of
things:

\- working with spring-loaded electronic cash drawers

\- working with RS-232 serial line printers of various types

\- handling nested products and product versions

\- tracking hours for payroll

\- working with all kinds of industries, not just coffee shops

\- handling inventory

\- integrating with accounting software (our own)

\- handling business transactions

\- working with existing legacy POS systems

Square doesn't do any of this right now. With enough money and resources it
could eventually do some of it. However, there are competitors out there who
can do more and who can do it for less money because they're not as tied to
the existing infrastructure.

It's also somewhat amusing that we came out with FaceCash Register in March
(Square Register?) and adopted "Pay with your face" as a motto ("Pay with your
name?"). We made this image in 2010
(<https://s.facecash.com/images/home1.jpg>) and they posted this one last week
([http://media.bestofmicro.com/square-card-
case,S-T-293933-13....](http://media.bestofmicro.com/square-card-
case,S-T-293933-13.jpg)). Such is life in the Valley.

Anyway, maybe I'm wrong about all of this, but I don't think I am. I've bet a
lot on it. Square is a really nice product, but as I've also said before, I
think they just made the most beautiful eight-track player the world has ever
known.

Aaron

~~~
WesleyJohnson
I find it a bit perplexing that you feel Square is building a solution that is
already outdated and yet the system you've bet a lot on, on paper, sounds like
existing legacy POS systems that have been around for years with the sole
exception of being web-based. I won't deny that credit cards are antiquated,
but the article's title and main point was talking about how the card reader
and simple app was their "trojan horse" to get into the small merchant market
and then build on the install base with other offerings, including payment
systems. That kind of renders the credit card argument moot as Square could
just as easily adapt to new payment methods as a traditional POS could. Not to
mention, cash (to me) is far more antiquated. Of course that's probably not
the best argument as I don't see cash disappearing anytime soon, but I
certainly believe credit cards (as they exist now) could be replace within a
decade.

As for your other points, I agree that they're essential features in a
traditional POS system. My only experience with using a POS was at a local
pizza shop in Ohio and we used all of those features on a daily basis.
However, there's no reason we couldn't have went with a pure digital solution
except for maybe receipts. Some customers just want that paper receipt. But I
do agree that Square has a long way to go before it becomes capable of being
such a system and there will be many businesses who just like doing things the
"antiquated" way with a traditional POS. I think there is room for both in the
business world.

~~~
thinkcomp
FaceCash is nothing like the existing payment system. It's a lot more than a
POS; it's a unified payment and accounting system capable of storing and
organizing more payment information than any other system in the country. As
part of that it has a web-based POS and API, but that's just scratching the
surface.

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ilkhd2
No it will never be a major player. It is neither necessary nor enough to have
cheap POS to run small business.

