Point of sale on a mobile phone? There's an app for that...

The mobile wars just got a little hotter as point-of-sale has become the latest crossover from specialized retail equipment to commonly available consumer mobile handset.

That's right... you can now do point-of-sale transactions, including processing credit cards, on the iPhone. While there have been several "point-of-sale" applications available on the iPhone (and other platforms) the new offering from Twitter co-creator Jack Dorsey has taken a very innovative approach to transaction processing on the iPhone with the recent public announcement of Square:

• A mag-stripe reader plugs into the headphone jack makes the "hardware" compatible with anything with an audio input, not just the iPhone.


• New security features leverage the form factor of a connected smartphone rather than fighting against it. For example, the iPhone can display a picture of the cardholder and ask "does this look like who is using the card?"


• Signature capture is via the multitouch screen... Very slick.


• Receipts are digital, removing the need for a mobile printer, and the service allows easy retrieval of receipts online as well as email to the purchaser.
• Integrated "loyalty card" functionality rewards repeat purchasers.

In short, this is - for what it is trying to do - a perfect POS app. Yes, there are new features that could be incorporate and yes, there is the need for back end accounting integration... but this looks simple, elegant, easy to use... and most importantly, allows both large and small retailers the ability to take advantage of the low cost of consumer hardware. Given the success Twitter has had with a simple, easy to use, and elegant application - with intentional limitations in pursuit of those goals - Square looks like another winner.

TechCrunch posted a video of the app in action:

Comments

[Jim Crawford]

UPDATED: Apple considering commercializing the EasyPay system currently being rolled out on iPod Touch devices in Apple Stores.

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/11/03/exclusive_look_at_apples_new_ipod_touch_based_easypay_checkout.html

Ironically, I recommended to Apple that they get into the POS space when they debuted the flat iMac... such a beautiful form factor for POS, particularly in fashion retailing. But alas... It's a chunky iPod Touch.