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Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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Amazon today launched the Amazon Local Register, a new iOS compatible card reader made to compete with Square's Square Reader and Paypal's Here card reader. Featuring an anti-swivel design and integration with Amazon payments, the Local Register accepts Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover as Amazon is offering a special flat rate of just 1.75% per swipe until January 2016.

Amazon Local Register's companion app for iOS offers a number of features to manage payments, allowing users to add items and discounts as well as the ability to track cash transactions, add staff accounts, change tax rates, and more. The app and the card reader can also connect with a number of cases, stands, receipt printers, cash drawers, and more.

amazon_secure_card_reader_app-800x447.jpg
The Amazon Local Register Secure Card Reader is available now for $10 through Amazon's website. The card reader's companion app can be downloaded through the App Store today. [Direct Link]

Article Link: Amazon Launches iOS Compatible 'Amazon Local Register' Card Reader
 

OreoMuncher

macrumors newbie
Nov 13, 2013
22
1
What is this 1950?

I still can't believe the US hasn't adopted chip and pin. And they say y'all are ahead... :confused:
 

wikiverse

macrumors 6502a
Sep 13, 2012
689
952
I still can't believe the US hasn't adopted chip and pin. And they say y'all are ahead... :confused:

Australia doesn't even allow signatures anymore. It's all paywave/paypass with PIN for purchases over $100. Cards still have chips, but almost no one uses them.
 

Robstevo

macrumors 6502
Jun 7, 2014
470
719
Does America have pay pass ? As in you just tap your card and bing a payment is processed ? Australia have it over here and it's awesome.
 

huges84

macrumors member
Mar 7, 2012
47
82
The way Amazon treats other companies (bullying Hatchet, Disney and many more), I wouldn't trust them to process my transactions.

Amazon previously has encouraged users to tell them the prices retailers were charging so they could undercut them just enough to put them out of business. I bet the hidden agenda of this app is getting the retailer to tell Amazon their prices directly.

Amazon is evil. Don't get involved with them or you'll regret it!
 

technopimp

macrumors 6502a
Aug 12, 2009
645
219
And then all I need to do is do more than $1000 in swipes before January to break even on the $10 they're charging me for the reader vs the free ones I can get from Square.
 

bushido

Suspended
Mar 26, 2008
8,070
2,755
Germany
I still can't believe the US hasn't adopted chip and pin. And they say y'all are ahead... :confused:

lol it explains the debts in the US cuz swiping is kinda "fun" and makes it seem harmless while putting in a PIN makes you almost think again if you really need what you are about to purchase.

SWIPE AWAY

Is it just em or does the UI design look kind of lazy in this?

agreed, looks very android
 

PowerBook-G5

macrumors 65816
Jul 30, 2013
1,243
1,179
But, but, but... it features an anti-swivel design - Can't innovate anymore my ass!:rolleyes:

Fixed it for you. But the swiveling design of the other card readers is annoying, seeing as it could have been very easily fixed during the design phase.
 

ptb42

macrumors 6502a
Oct 14, 2011
703
184
I still can't believe the US hasn't adopted chip and pin. And they say y'all are ahead... :confused:

It's imminent. US merchants are installing terminals with chip readers, but they aren't usually enabled. Wal-Mart is an exception, although not in every store. Replacement cards are starting to have chips in them, although you may have to make a special request.

I believe that October 2015 is the "deadline", meaning that after that date, merchants must have switched to point-of-sale terminals that will read a chip, or the merchant assumes all responsibility for fraud.

However, it will be "chip and signature" for credit cards. US consumers associate a PIN with a debit card, and I guess the banks think it will confuse them.

Unfortunately, it's a pain when you want to use a US chip card in Europe. Merchants catering to tourists know what to expect, but if you go somewhere they expect the consumer to enter a PIN, they get nervous because they think they will on the hook for fraud.
 

snebes

macrumors 6502a
Apr 20, 2008
810
712
What percentage do the card terminals at, say Walmart, take? 1.7% from amazon seems really fair.

Walmart is big enough to negotiate their rates -- something the 'little guy' can't do. Typical rates the 'little guy' can get is 1.9 - 2.9% + $.30 - $.50 per transaction.
 

ptb42

macrumors 6502a
Oct 14, 2011
703
184
Does America have pay pass ? As in you just tap your card and bing a payment is processed ?

Some cards have the feature. I have one, out of all the cards we have.

But, I've found few merchants have a point-of-sale terminal that supports it. Maybe that will change as merchants switch over to terminals that support the EMV chip -- they'll add the NFC capability as well.
 

Menel

Suspended
Aug 4, 2011
6,351
1,356
Some cards have the feature. I have one, out of all the cards we have.

But, I've found few merchants have a point-of-sale terminal that supports it. Maybe that will change as merchants switch over to terminals that support the EMV chip -- they'll add the NFC capability as well.
My cards used to have it, last time they were re-issued, NFC chip removed.

Also some of the stores who had it around here, have removed it.

I think NFC is dying.
 

jrswizzle

macrumors 603
Aug 23, 2012
6,107
129
McKinney, TX
I still can't believe the US hasn't adopted chip and pin. And they say y'all are ahead... :confused:

No one says we're ahead in this area.....

But that's the price of being the (2nd) largest consumer economy in the world. Too many retailers and customers stuck on legacy hardware and software. It'll take a HUGE push and a lot of time to get with the times.

Luckily, I've read the push is starting. I think 2015/2016 is targeted as the start of rollout. Then they'll ease everyone into it.
 

dontwalkhand

macrumors 603
Jul 5, 2007
6,368
2,863
Phoenix, AZ
Does America have pay pass ? As in you just tap your card and bing a payment is processed ? Australia have it over here and it's awesome.

All my Wells Fargo cards have PayPass, and my CCs have Chip and PIN.

Square even introduced an EMV reader,
Amazon just introduced this one only to have to introduce a new one next year? Then again the app even looks lazy.
 

xdhd350

macrumors 6502
Mar 9, 2010
367
74
Problem with NFC cards is that thieves can walk up to you with a portable reader and grab your info, so you end up needing special faraday cage wallets and purses to stop that.

The forthcoming EMV, or what I call smart card, like Europe has had for years will solve a lot of that problem. It just takes awhile for a country like the US to switch over. I just got the notice from Square a couple weeks ago about the October 2015 deadline.
 

dontwalkhand

macrumors 603
Jul 5, 2007
6,368
2,863
Phoenix, AZ
Problem with NFC cards is that thieves can walk up to you with a portable reader and grab your info, so you end up needing special faraday cage wallets and purses to stop that.

The forthcoming EMV, or what I call smart card, like Europe has had for years will solve a lot of that problem. It just takes awhile for a country like the US to switch over. I just got the notice from Square a couple weeks ago about the October 2015 deadline.

Agreed. NFC is more secure in a phone than on a card. At least on a phone the system isn't active until the app is running, vs. on a card where it's "always on"
 

ptb42

macrumors 6502a
Oct 14, 2011
703
184
No one says we're ahead in this area.....

But that's the price of being the (2nd) largest consumer economy in the world. Too many retailers and customers stuck on legacy hardware and software. It'll take a HUGE push and a lot of time to get with the times.

This is the real reason it has been delayed so long. I read an article a while back claiming that the cost to switch to EMV cards in the US was around $8 BILLION. Most of that cost is on the merchants, who have to replace their POS terminals.

Luckily, I've read the push is starting. I think 2015/2016 is targeted as the start of rollout. Then they'll ease everyone into it.
October, 2015, is the "deadline". However, it's not an "ease", it's a "shove". Merchants are being told: "after that, you can accept a mag-stripe card if you want. But, you'll have to eat any fraud".

----------

All my Wells Fargo cards have PayPass, and my CCs have Chip and PIN.

Are your credit cards from Wells Fargo?

If so, I have some bad news: while there is a PIN in the chip, the signature requirement has "priority". The chip has some way to specify this to the terminal. So, it will require a signature if there's a way to capture it, and only fall back to a PIN if it's an unattended device.

This is supposed to work in things like unattended gas pumps in Europe. However, I can attest that it doesn't, at least not in Italy. We requested replacement Wells Fargo cards with EMV chips specifically for this purpose. In the end, I had to scrounge around for cash -- fortunately, we were mid-point in our trip and still had some Euros.

Maybe you have had better luck, or they will figure it out before widespread rollout in the US.

I don't know why US banks are sticking with the signature. I guess it's because they think consumers used to specifying a PIN for a debit card will get confused if it's required for a credit card.
 
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