Square on OpTe.ch

Why Apple, Despite Low Profit Opportunity, Might Announce Mobile Payments at WWDC 2014

Tue, 29 Apr 2014 07:21:32 -0700

The first, and by far the strongest, reason that Apple might not be in a rush to deploy a mobile payment/wallet solution is that the margins are extremely low. They’re even lower if you’re paying with a credit card since those companies already take a cut.

Google Wallet hasn’t exactly taken off. Square is growing in larger cities, but it is far from ubiquitous. So why would Apple bother? If there isn’t much money to be made and previous attempts are less than successful, what’s to be gained?

Square's New Reader

Mon, 09 Dec 2013 14:20:04 -0700

MacRumors: Square Debuts New Card Reader Developed by Former Apple Lightning Connector Designer

To develop the thinner card reader for Square, Dorogusker was forced to move away from stock components and develop proprietary hardware such as a new custom read head that is able to read two bands of data from the magnetic stripes on credit cards, resulting in greater swipe accuracy.

Dorogusker and his team concentrated on improving the “feel” of swiping, incorporating additional tension in a spring that attaches to the read head for a more satisfying credit card swiping experience.